Deployable safety shield for charging

ABSTRACT

Methods, devices, and systems are provided to shield a passenger compartment of an electric vehicle from electromagnetic fields present during a wireless charging process. A charging system may include a shield portion between the charging plate and a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle. The shield portion may include at least two states, a first state being a non-deployed state and a second state being a deployed state and the shield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in the second state.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefits of and priority, under 35U.S.C. § 119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/255,214,filed on Nov. 13, 2015, entitled “Electric Vehicle Systems andOperation”; 62/259,536, filed Nov. 24, 2015, entitled “ChargingTransmission Line Under Roadway for Moving Electric Vehicle”;62/266,452, filed Dec. 11, 2015, entitled “Charging Transmission LineUnder Roadway for Moving Electric Vehicle”; 62/269,764, filed Dec. 18,2015, entitled “Conditional Progressive Degradation of Electric VehiclePower Supply System”; 62/300,606, filed Feb. 26, 2016, entitled“Charging Transmission Line Under Roadway for Moving Electric Vehicle”;62/310,387, filed Mar. 18, 2016, entitled “Distributed ProcessingNetwork for Rechargeable Electric Vehicle Tracking and Routing”;62/359,563, filed Jul. 7, 2016, entitled “Next Generation Vehicle”; and62/378,348, filed Aug. 23, 2016, entitled “Next Generation Vehicle.” Theentire disclosures of the applications listed above are herebyincorporated by reference, in their entirety, for all that they teachand for all purposes.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/954,436 filed Nov. 30, 2015, entitled “Electric Vehicle RoadwayCharging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 14/954,484 filed Nov. 30,2015, entitled “Electric Vehicle Charging Device Positioning and Methodof Use”; Ser. No. 14/979,158 filed Dec. 22, 2015, entitled “ElectricVehicle Charging Device Alignment and Method of Use”; Ser. No.14/981,368 filed Dec. 28, 2015, entitled “Electric Vehicle ChargingDevice Obstacle Avoidance and Warning System and Method of Use”; Ser.No. 15/010,701 filed Jan. 29, 2016, entitled “Electric Vehicle EmergencyCharging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/010,921 filed Jan. 29,2016, entitled “Electric Vehicle Aerial Vehicle Charging System andMethod of Use”; Ser. No. 15/044,940 filed Feb. 16, 2016, entitled“Electric Vehicle Overhead Charging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No.15/048,307 filed Feb. 19, 2016, entitled “Electric Vehicle ChargingStation System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/055,345 filed Feb. 26,2016, entitled “Charging Transmission Line Under Roadway For MovingElectric Vehicle”; Ser. No. 15/074,593 filed Mar. 18, 2016, entitled“Multi-Mode Rechargeable Electric Vehicle”; Ser. No. 15/074,624 filedMar. 18, 2016, entitled “Distributed Processing Network for RechargeableElectric Vehicle Tracking and Routing”; Ser. No. 15/143,083 filed Apr.29, 2016, entitled “Vehicle To Vehicle Charging System and Method ofUse”; Ser. No. 15/145,416 filed May 3, 2016, entitled “Electric VehicleOptical Charging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/169,073 filedMay 31, 2016, entitled “Vehicle Charge Exchange System and Method ofUse”; Ser. No.15/170,406 filed Jun. 1, 2016, entitled “Vehicle GroupCharging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/196,898 filed Jun. 29,2016, entitled “Predictive Charging System and Method of Use”; Ser. No.15/198,034 filed Jun. 30, 2016, entitled “Integrated Vehicle ChargingPanel System and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/223,814 filed Jul. 29,2016, entitled “Vehicle Skin Charging System and Method”; Ser. No.15/226,446 filed Aug. 2, 2016, entitled “Vehicle Capacitive ChargingSystem and Method of Use”; Ser. No. 15/237,937 filed Aug. 16, 2016,entitled “Smart Grid Management”; Ser. No. 15/246,867 filed Aug. 25,2016, entitled “Electric Contact Device for Electric Vehicles and Methodof Use”; and Ser. No. 15/254,915 filed Sep. 1, 2016, entitled“Multi-Vehicle Communications and Control System”. The entiredisclosures of the applications listed above are hereby incorporated byreference, in their entirety, for all that they teach and for allpurposes.

FIELD

The present disclosure is generally directed to vehicle systems, inparticular, toward electric and/or hybrid-electric vehicles.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, transportation methods have changed substantially. Thischange is due in part to a concern over the limited availability ofnatural resources, a proliferation in personal technology, and asocietal shift to adopt more environmentally friendly transportationsolutions. These considerations have encouraged the development of anumber of new flexible-fuel vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles, andelectric vehicles.

While these vehicles appear to be new they are generally implemented asa number of traditional subsystems that are merely tied to analternative power source. In fact, the design and construction of thevehicles is limited to standard frame sizes, shapes, materials, andtransportation concepts. Among other things, these limitations fail totake advantage of the benefits of new technology, power sources, andsupport infrastructure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a vehicle in an environment in accordance with embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of a data structure for storinginformation about a vehicle in an environment;

FIG. 4A shows a vehicle in a user environment in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B shows a vehicle in a fleet management and automated operationenvironment in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4C shows an embodiment of the instrument panel of the vehicleaccording to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows charging areas associated with an environment in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a vehicle in a roadway charging environment in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a vehicle in a robotic charging station environment inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a vehicle in an overhead charging environment in accordancewith another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a vehicle in a roadway environment comprising roadwayvehicles in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a vehicle in an aerial vehicle charging environment inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a vehicle in an emergency charging environment inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a vehicle in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a vehicle in accordance with at least someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a vehicle in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electrical system ofthe vehicle;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a power generation unitassociated with the electrical system of the vehicle;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an embodiment of power storage associatedwith the electrical system of the vehicle;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an embodiment of loads associated with theelectrical system of the vehicle;

FIG. 19A is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of acommunications subsystem of the vehicle;

FIG. 19B is a block diagram of a computing environment associated withthe embodiments presented herein;

FIG. 19C is a block diagram of a computing device associated with one ormore components described herein;

FIG. 20 depicts a vehicle including a safety shielding system inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 depicts at least one shield in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 22 depicts an active cancelation management system in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 depicts a vehicle including a safety shielding systemimplementing an active cancelation management system in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 depicts a vehicle charging environment with a grounding rod inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 depicts a first flow chart in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 26 depicts a second flow chart in accordance with embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIGS. 27A-27B depict first and second deployable shields in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 28A-28E depict an adjustable deployable shield in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 29 depicts a third flow chart in accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in connectionwith a vehicle, and in accordance with one exemplary embodiment anelectric vehicle and/or hybrid-electric vehicle and associated systems.

With attention to FIGS. 1-11, embodiments of the electric vehicle system10 and method of use are depicted.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electric vehicle system comprises electricvehicle 100. The electric vehicle 100 comprises vehicle front 110,vehicle aft 120, vehicle roof 130, vehicle side 160, vehicleundercarriage 140 and vehicle interior 150.

Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicle 100 is depicted in a plurality ofexemplary environments. The vehicle 100 may operate in any one or moreof the depicted environments in any combination. Other embodiments arepossible but are not depicted in FIG. 2. Generally, the vehicle 100 mayoperate in environments which enable charging of the vehicle 100 and/oroperation of the vehicle 100. More specifically, the vehicle 100 mayreceive a charge via one or more means comprising emergency chargingvehicle system 270, aerial vehicle charging system 280, roadway system250, robotic charging system 254 and overhead charging system 258. Thevehicle 100 may interact and/or operate in an environment comprising oneor more other roadway vehicles 260. The vehicle 100 may engage withelements within the vehicle 100 comprising vehicle driver 220, vehiclepassengers 220 and vehicle database 210. In one embodiment, vehicledatabase 210 does not physically reside in the vehicle 100 but isinstead accessed remotely, e.g. by wireless communication, and residesin another location such as a residence or business location. Vehicle100 may operate autonomously and/or semi-autonomously in an autonomousenvironment 290 (here, depicted as a roadway environment presenting aroadway obstacle of which the vehicle 100 autonomously identifies andsteers the vehicle 100 clear of the obstacle). Furthermore, the vehicle100 may engage with a remote operator system 240, which may providefleet management instructions or control.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an embodiment of a data structure 300 for storinginformation about a vehicle 100 in an environment. The data structuremay be stored in vehicle database 210. Generally, data structure 300identifies operational data associated with charging types 310A. Thedata structures 300 may be accessible by a vehicle controller. The datacontained in data structure 300 enables, among other things, for thevehicle 100 to receive a charge from a given charging type.

Data may comprise charging type 310A comprising a manual chargingstation 310J, robotic charging station 310K such as robotic chargingsystem 254, a roadway charging system 310L such as those of roadwaysystem 250, an emergency charging system 310M such as that of emergencycharging vehicle system 270, an emergency charging system 310N such asthat of aerial vehicle charging system 280, and overhead charging type310O such as that of overhead charging system 258.

Compatible vehicle charging panel types 310B comprise locations onvehicle 100 wherein charging may be received, such as vehicle roof 130,vehicle side 160 and vehicle lower or undercarriage 140. Compatiblevehicle storage units 310C data indicates storage units types that mayreceive power from a given charging type 310A. Available automationlevel 310D data indicates the degree of automation available for a givencharging type; a high level may indicate full automation, allowing thevehicle driver 220 and/or vehicle passengers 230 to not involvethemselves in charging operations, while a low level of automation mayrequire the driver 220 and/or occupant 230 to manipulate/position avehicle charging device to engage with a particular charging type 310Ato receive charging. Charging status 310E indicates whether a chargingtype 310A is available for charging (i.e. is “up”) or is unavailable forcharging (i.e. is “down”). Charge rate 310F provides a relative valuefor time to charge, while Cost 310G indicates the cost to vehicle 100 toreceive a given charge. The Other data element 310H may provideadditional data relevant to a given charging type 310A, such as arecommended separation distance between a vehicle charging plate and thecharging source. The Shielding data element 310I indicates ifelectromagnetic shielding is recommended for a given charging type 310Aand/or charging configuration. Further data fields 310P, 310Q arepossible.

FIG. 4A depicts the vehicle 100 in a user environment comprising vehicledatabase 210, vehicle driver 220 and vehicle passengers 230. Vehicle 100further comprises vehicle instrument panel 400 to facilitate or enableinteractions with one or more of vehicle database 210, vehicle driver220 and vehicle passengers 230. In one embodiment, driver 210 interactswith instrument panel 400 to query database 210 so as to locateavailable charging options and to consider or weigh associated terms andconditions of the charging options. Once a charging option is selected,driver 210 may engage or operate a manual control device (e.g., ajoystick) to position a vehicle charging receiver panel so as to receivea charge.

FIG. 4B depicts the vehicle 100 in a user environment comprising aremote operator system 240 and an autonomous driving environment 290. Inthe remote operator system 240 environment, a fleet of electric vehicles100 (or mixture of electric and non-electric vehicles) is managed and/orcontrolled remotely. For example, a human operator may dictate that onlycertain types of charging types are to be used, or only those chargingtypes below a certain price point are to be used. The remote operatorsystem 240 may comprise a database comprising operational data, such asfleet-wide operational data. In another example, the vehicle 100 mayoperate in an autonomous driving environment 290 wherein the vehicle 100is operated with some degree of autonomy, ranging from completeautonomous operation to semi-automation wherein only specific drivingparameters (e.g., speed control or obstacle avoidance) are maintained orcontrolled autonomously. In FIG. 4B, autonomous driving environment 290depicts an oil slick roadway hazard that triggers that triggers thevehicle 100, while in an automated obstacle avoidance mode, toautomatically steer around the roadway hazard.

FIG. 4C shows one embodiment of the vehicle instrument panel 400 ofvehicle 100. Instrument panel 400 of vehicle 100 comprises steeringwheel 410, vehicle operational display 420 (which would provide basicdriving data such as speed), one or more auxiliary displays 424 (whichmay display, e.g., entertainment applications such as music or radioselections), heads-up display 434 (which may provide, e.g., guidanceinformation such as route to destination, or obstacle warninginformation to warn of a potential collision, or some or all primaryvehicle operational data such as speed), power management display 428(which may provide, e.g., data as to electric power levels of vehicle100), and charging manual controller 432 (which provides a physicalinput, e.g. a joystick, to manual maneuver, e.g., a vehicle chargingplate to a desired separation distance). One or more of displays ofinstrument panel 400 may be touch-screen displays. One or more displaysof instrument panel 400 may be mobile devices and/or applicationsresiding on a mobile device such as a smart phone.

FIG. 5 depicts a charging environment of a roadway charging system 250.The charging area may be in the roadway 504, on the roadway 504, orotherwise adjacent to the roadway 504, and/or combinations thereof. Thisstatic charging area 520B may allow a charge to be transferred evenwhile the electrical vehicle 100 is moving. For example, the staticcharging area 520B may include a charging transmitter (e.g., conductor,etc.) that provides a transfer of energy when in a suitable range of areceiving unit (e.g., an inductor pick up, etc.). In this example, thereceiving unit may be a part of the charging panel associated with theelectrical vehicle 100.

The static charging areas 520A, 520B may be positioned a static areasuch as a designated spot, pad, parking space 540A, 540B, trafficcontrolled space (e.g., an area adjacent to a stop sign, traffic light,gate, etc.), portion of a building, portion of a structure, etc., and/orcombinations thereof. Some static charging areas may require that theelectric vehicle 100 is stationary before a charge, or electrical energytransfer, is initiated. The charging of vehicle 100 may occur by any ofseveral means comprising a plug or other protruding feature. The powersource 516A, 516B may include a receptacle or other receiving feature,and/or vice versa.

The charging area may be a moving charging area 520C. Moving chargingareas 520C may include charging areas associated with one or moreportions of a vehicle, a robotic charging device, a tracked chargingdevice, a rail charging device, etc., and/or combinations thereof. In amoving charging area 520C, the electrical vehicle 100 may be configuredto receive a charge, via a charging panel, while the vehicle 100 ismoving and/or while the vehicle 100 is stationary. In some embodiments,the electrical vehicle 100 may synchronize to move at the same speed,acceleration, and/or path as the moving charging area 520C. In oneembodiment, the moving charging area 520C may synchronize to move at thesame speed, acceleration, and/or path as the electrical vehicle 100. Inany event, the synchronization may be based on an exchange ofinformation communicated across a communications channel between theelectric vehicle 100 and the charging area 520C. Additionally oralternatively, the synchronization may be based on informationassociated with a movement of the electric vehicle 100 and/or the movingcharging area 520C. In some embodiments, the moving charging area 520Cmay be configured to move along a direction or path 532 from an originposition to a destination position 520C′.

In some embodiments, a transformer may be included to convert a powersetting associated with a main power supply to a power supply used bythe charging areas 520A-C. For example, the transformer may increase ordecrease a voltage associated with power supplied via one or more powertransmission lines.

Referring to FIG. 6, a vehicle 100 is shown in a charging environment inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The system 10comprises a vehicle 100, an electrical storage unit 612, an externalpower source 516 able to provide a charge to the vehicle 100, a chargingpanel 608 mounted on the vehicle 100 and in electrical communicationwith the electrical storage unit 612, and a vehicle charging panelcontroller 610. The charging panel controller 610 may determine if theelectrical storage unit requires charging and if conditions allow fordeployment of a charging panel. The vehicle charging panel 608 mayoperate in at least a retracted state and a deployed state (608 and 608′as shown is FIG. 6), and is movable by way of an armature.

The charging panel controller 610 may receive signals from vehiclesensors 626 to determine, for example, if a hazard is present in thepath of the vehicle 100 such that deployment of the vehicle chargingpanel 608 is inadvisable. The charging panel controller 610 may alsoquery vehicle database 210 comprising data structures 300 to establishother required conditions for deployment. For example, the database mayprovide that a particular roadway does not provide a charging service orthe charging service is inactive, wherein the charging panel 108 wouldnot be deployed.

The power source 516 may include at least one electrical transmissionline 624 and at least one power transmitter or charging area 520. Duringa charge, the charging panel 608 may serve to transfer energy from thepower source 516 to at least one energy storage unit 612 (e.g., battery,capacitor, power cell, etc.) of the electric vehicle 100.

FIG. 7 shows a vehicle 100 in a charging station environment 254 inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Generally,in this embodiment of the disclosure, charging occurs from a roboticunit 700.

Robotic charging unit 700 comprises one or more robotic unit arms 704,at least one robotic unit arm 704 interconnected with charging plate520. The one or more robotic unit arms 704 manoeuver charging plate 520relative to charging panel 608 of vehicle 100. Charging plate 520 ispositioned to a desired or selectable separation distance, as assistedby a separation distance sensor disposed on charging plate 520. Chargingplate 520 may remain at a finite separation distance from charging panel608, or may directly contact charging panel (i.e. such that separationdistance is zero). Charging may be by induction. In alternativeembodiments, separation distance sensor is alternatively or additionallydisposed on robotic arm 704. Vehicle 100 receives charging via chargingpanel 608 which in turn charges energy storage unit 612. Charging panelcontroller 610 is in communication with energy storage unit 612,charging panel 608, vehicle database 300, charge provider controller622, and/or any one of elements of instrument panel 400.

Robotic unit further comprises, is in communication with and/or isinterconnected with charge provider controller 622, power source 516 anda robotic unit database. Power source 516 supplies power, such aselectrical power, to charge plate 520 to enable charging of vehicle 100via charging panel 608. Controller 622 manoeuvers or operates roboticunit 704, either directly and/or completely or with assistance from aremote user, such as a driver or passenger in vehicle 100 by way of, inone embodiment, charging manual controller 432.

FIG. 8 shows a vehicle 100 in an overhead charging environment inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Generally,in this embodiment of the disclosure, charging occurs from an overheadtowered charging system 258, similar to existing commuter rail systems.Such an overhead towered system 258 may be easier to build and repaircompared to in-roadway systems. Generally, the disclosure includes aspecially-designed overhead roadway charging system comprising anoverhead charging cable or first wire 814 that is configured to engagean overhead contact 824 which provides charge to charging panel 608which provides charge to vehicle energy storage unit 612. The overheadtowered charging system 258 may further comprise second wire 818 toprovide stability and structural strength to the roadway charging system800. The first wire 814 and second wire 818 are strung between towers810.

The overhead charging cable or first wire 814 is analogous to a contactwire used to provide charging to electric trains or other vehicles. Anexternal source provides or supplies electrical power to the first wire814. The charge provider comprises an energy source i.e. a providerbattery and a provider charge circuit or controller in communicationwith the provider battery. The overhead charging cable or first wire 814engages the overhead contact 824 which is in electrical communicationwith charge receiver panel 108. The overhead contact 824 may compriseany known means to connect to overhead electrical power cables, such asa pantograph 820, a bow collector, a trolley pole or any means known tothose skilled in the art. Further disclosure regarding electrical poweror energy transfer via overhead systems is found in US Pat. Publ. No.2013/0105264 to Ruth entitled “Pantograph Assembly,” the entire contentsof which are incorporated by reference for all purposes. In oneembodiment, the charging of vehicle 100 by overhead charging system 800via overhead contact 824 is by any means know to those skilled in theart, to include those described in the above-referenced US Pat. Publ.No. 2013/0105264 to Ruth.

The overhead contact 824 presses against the underside of the lowestoverhead wire of the overhead charging system, i.e. the overheadcharging cable or first wire 814, aka the contact wire. The overheadcontact 824 may be electrically conductive. Alternatively oradditionally, the overhead contact 824 may be adapted to receiveelectrical power from overhead charging cable or first wire 814 byinductive charging.

In one embodiment, the receipt and/or control of the energy provided viaoverhead contact 824 (as connected to the energy storage unit 612) isprovided by receiver charge circuit or charging panel controller 110.

Overhead contact 824 and/or charging panel 608 may be located anywhereon vehicle 100, to include, for example, the roof, side panel, trunk,hood, front or rear bumper of the charge receiver 100 vehicle, as longas the overhead contact 824 may engage the overhead charging cable orfirst wire 814. Charging panel 108 may be stationary (e.g. disposed onthe roof of vehicle 100) or may be moveable, e.g. moveable with thepantograph 820. Pantograph 820 may be positioned in at least two statescomprising retracted and extended. In the extended state pantograph 820engages first wire 814 by way of the overhead contact 824. In theretracted state, pantograph 820 may typically reside flush with the roofof vehicle 100 and extend only when required for charging. Control ofthe charging and/or positioning of the charging plate 608, pantograph820 and/or overhead contact 824 may be manual, automatic orsemi-automatic (such as via controller 610); said control may beperformed through a GUI engaged by driver or occupant of receivingvehicle 100 and/or driver or occupant of charging vehicle.

FIG. 9 shows a vehicle in a roadway environment comprising roadwayvehicles 260 in accordance with another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Roadway vehicles 260 comprise roadway passive vehicles 910and roadway active vehicles 920. Roadway passive vehicles 910 comprisevehicles that are operating on the roadway of vehicle 100 but do nocooperatively or actively engage with vehicle 100. Stated another way,roadway passive vehicles 910 are simply other vehicles operating on theroadway with the vehicle 100 and must be, among other things, avoided(e.g., to include when vehicle 100 is operating in an autonomous orsemi-autonomous manner). In contrast, roadway active vehicles 920comprise vehicles that are operating on the roadway of vehicle 100 andhave the capability to, or actually are, actively engaging with vehicle100. For example, the emergency charging vehicle system 270 is a roadwayactive vehicle 920 in that it may cooperate or engage with vehicle 100to provide charging. In some embodiments, vehicle 100 may exchange datawith a roadway active vehicle 920 such as, for example, data regardingcharging types available to the roadway active vehicle 920.

FIG. 10 shows a vehicle in an aerial vehicle charging environment inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Generally,this embodiment involves an aerial vehicle (“AV”), such as an UnmannedAerial Vehicle (UAV), flying over or near a vehicle to provide a charge.The UAV may also land on the car to provide an emergency (or routine)charge. Such a charging scheme may be particularly suited for operationsin remote areas, in high traffic situations, and/or when the car ismoving. The AV may be a specially-designed UAV, aka RPV or drone, with acharging panel that can extend from the AV to provide a charge. The AVmay include a battery pack and a charging circuit to deliver a charge tothe vehicle. The AV may be a manned aerial vehicle, such as a pilotedgeneral aviation aircraft, such as a Cessna 172.

With reference to FIG. 10, an exemplar embodiment of a vehicle chargingsystem 100 comprising a charge provider configured as an aerial vehicle280, the aerial vehicle 280 comprising a power source 516 and chargeprovider controller 622. The AV may be semi-autonomous or fullyautonomous. The AV may have a remote pilot/operator providing controlinputs. The power source 516 is configured to provide a charge to acharging panel 608 of vehicle 100. The power source 516 is incommunication with the charge provider controller 622. The aerialvehicle 280 provides a tether 1010 to deploy or extend charging plate520 near to charging panel 608. The tether 1010 may comprise a chain,rope, rigid or semi-rigid tow bar or any means to position chargingplate 520 near charging panel 608. For example, tether 1010 may besimilar to a refueling probe used by airborne tanker aircraft whenrefueling another aircraft.

In one embodiment, the charging plate 520 is not in physicalinterconnection to AV 280, that is, there is no tether 1010. In thisembodiment, the charging plate 520 is positioned and controlled by AV280 by way of a controller on AV 280 or in communication with AV 280.

In one embodiment, the charging plate 520 position and/orcharacteristics (e.g. charging power level, flying separation distance,physical engagement on/off) are controlled by vehicle 100 and/or a userin or driver of vehicle 100.

Charge or power output of power source 516 is provided or transmitted tocharger plate 620 by way of a charging cable or wire, which may beintegral to tether 1010. In one embodiment, the charging cable isnon-structural, that is, it provides zero or little structural supportto the connection between AV 280 and charger plate 520.

Charging panel 608 of vehicle 100 receives power from charger plate 520.Charging panel 608 and charger plate 520 may be in direct physicalcontact (termed a “contact” charger configuration) or not in directphysical contact (termed a “flyer” charger configuration), but must beat or below a threshold (separation) distance to enable charging, suchas by induction. Energy transfer or charging from the charger plate 520to the charging panel 608 is inductive charging (i.e. use of an EM fieldto transfer energy between two objects). The charging panel 608 providesreceived power to energy storage unit 612 by way of charging panelcontroller 610. Charging panel controller 610 is in communication withvehicle database 210, vehicle database 210 comprising an AV chargingdata structure.

Charging panel 508 may be located anywhere on vehicle 100, to include,for example, the roof, side panel, trunk, hood, front or rear bumper andwheel hub of vehicle 100. Charging panel 608 is mounted on the roof ofvehicle 100 in the embodiment of FIG. 10. In some embodiments, chargingpanel 608 may be deployable, i.e. may extend or deploy only whencharging is needed. For example, charging panel 608 may typically resideflush with the roof of vehicle 100 and extend when required forcharging. Similarly, charger plate 520 may, in one embodiment, not beconnected to AV 280 by way of tether 1010 and may instead be mounteddirectly on the AV 280, to include, for example, the wing, empennage,undercarriage to include landing gear, and may be deployable orextendable when required. Tether 1010 may be configured to maneuvercharging plate 520 to any position on vehicle 100 so as to enablecharging. In one embodiment, the AV 280 may land on the vehicle 100 soas to enable charging through direct contact (i.e. the aforementionedcontact charging configuration) between the charging plate 520 and thecharging panel 608 of vehicle 100. Charging may occur while both AV 280and vehicle 100 are moving, while both vehicle 100 and AV 280 are notmoving (i.e., vehicle 100 is parked and AV 280 lands on top of vehicle100), or while vehicle 100 is parked and AV 280 is hovering or circlingabove. Control of the charging and/or positioning of the charging plate520 may be manual, automatic or semi-automatic; said control may beperformed through a GUI engaged by driver or occupant of receivingvehicle 100 and/or driver or occupant of charging AV 280.

FIG. 11 is an embodiment of a vehicle emergency charging systemcomprising an emergency charging vehicle 270 and charge receiver vehicle100 is disclosed. The emergency charging vehicle 270 is a road vehicle,such as a pick-up truck, as shown in FIG. 11. The emergency chargingvehicle 270 is configured to provide a charge to a charge receivervehicle 100, such as an automobile. The emergency charging vehicle 270comprises an energy source i.e. a charging power source 516 and a chargeprovider controller 622 in communication with the charging power source516. The emergency charging vehicle 270 provides a towed and/orarticulated charger plate 520, as connected to the emergency chargingvehicle 270 by connector 1150. The connector 1150 may comprise a chain,rope, rigid or semi-rigid tow bar or any means to position charger plate520 near the charging panel 608 of vehicle 100. Charge or power outputof charging power source 516 is provided or transmitted to charger plate520 by way of charging cable or wire 1140. In one embodiment, thecharging cable 1140 is non-structural, that is, it provides little or nostructural support to the connection between emergency charging vehicle270 and charging panel 608. Charging panel 608 (of vehicle 100) receivespower from charger plate 520. Charger plate 520 and charging panel 608may be in direct physical contact or not in direct physical contact, butmust be at or below a threshold separation distance to enable charging,such as by induction. Charger plate 520 may comprise wheels or rollersso as to roll along roadway surface. Charger plate 520 may also notcontact the ground surface and instead be suspended above the ground;such a configuration may be termed a “flying” configuration. In theflying configuration, charger plate may form an aerodynamic surface to,for example, facilitate stability and control of the positioning of thecharging plate 520. Energy transfer or charging from the charger plate520 to the charge receiver panel 608 is through inductive charging (i.e.use of an EM field to transfer energy between two objects). The chargingpanel 608 provides received power to energy storage unit 612 directly orby way of charging panel controller 610. In one embodiment, the receiptand/or control of the energy provided via the charging panel 608 isprovided by charging panel controller 610.

Charging panel controller 610 may be located anywhere on charge receivervehicle 100, to include, for example, the roof, side panel, trunk, hood,front or rear bumper and wheel hub of charge receiver 100 vehicle. Insome embodiments, charging panel 608 may be deployable, i.e. may extendor deploy only when charging is needed. For example, charging panel 608may typically stow flush with the lower plane of vehicle 100 and extendwhen required for charging. Similarly, charger plate 520 may, in oneembodiment, not be connected to the lower rear of the emergency chargingvehicle 270 by way of connector 1150 and may instead be mounted on theemergency charging vehicle 270, to include, for example, the roof, sidepanel, trunk, hood, front or rear bumper and wheel hub of emergencycharging vehicle 270. Connector 1150 may be configured to maneuverconnector plate 520 to any position on emergency charging vehicle 270 soas to enable charging. Control of the charging and/or positioning of thecharging plate may be manual, automatic or semi-automatic; said controlmay be performed through a GUI engaged by driver or occupant ofreceiving vehicle and/or driver or occupant of charging vehicle.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of a vehicle 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. Although shown in the form of acar, it should be appreciated that the vehicle 100 described herein mayinclude any conveyance or model of a conveyance, where the conveyancewas designed for the purpose of moving one or more tangible objects,such as people, animals, cargo, and the like. The term “vehicle” doesnot require that a conveyance moves or is capable of movement. Typicalvehicles may include but are in no way limited to cars, trucks,motorcycles, busses, automobiles, trains, railed conveyances, boats,ships, marine conveyances, submarine conveyances, airplanes, spacecraft, flying machines, human-powered conveyances, and the like. In anyevent, the vehicle 100 may include a frame 1204 and one or more bodypanels 1208 mounted or affixed thereto. The vehicle 100 may include oneor more interior components (e.g., components inside an interior space150, or user space, of a vehicle 100, etc.), exterior components (e.g.,components outside of the interior space 150, or user space, of avehicle 100, etc.), drive systems, controls systems, structuralcomponents.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a plan view of a vehicle 100 will be describedin accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As providedabove, the vehicle 100 may comprise a number of electrical and/ormechanical systems, subsystems, etc. The mechanical systems of thevehicle 100 can include structural, power, safety, and communicationssubsystems, to name a few. While each subsystem may be describedseparately, it should be appreciated that the components of a particularsubsystem may be shared between one or more other subsystems of thevehicle 100.

The structural subsystem includes the frame 1204 of the vehicle 100. Theframe 1204 may comprise a separate frame and body construction (i.e.,body-on-frame construction), a unitary frame and body construction(i.e., a unibody construction), or any other construction defining thestructure of the vehicle 100. The frame 1204 may be made from one ormore materials including, but in no way limited to steel, titanium,aluminum, carbon fiber, plastic, polymers, etc., and/or combinationsthereof. In some embodiments, the frame 1204 may be formed, welded,fused, fastened, pressed, etc., combinations thereof, or otherwiseshaped to define a physical structure and strength of the vehicle 100.In any event, the frame 1204 may comprise one or more surfaces,connections, protrusions, cavities, mounting points, tabs, slots, orother features that are configured to receive other components that makeup the vehicle 100. For example, the body panels, powertrain subsystem,controls systems, interior components, communications subsystem, andsafety subsystem may interconnect with, or attach to, the frame 1204 ofthe vehicle 100.

The frame 1204 may include one or more modular system and/or subsystemconnection mechanisms. These mechanisms may include features that areconfigured to provide a selectively interchangeable interface for one ormore of the systems and/or subsystems described herein. The mechanismsmay provide for a quick exchange, or swapping, of components whileproviding enhanced security and adaptability over conventionalmanufacturing or attachment. For instance, the ability to selectivelyinterchange systems and/or subsystems in the vehicle 100 allow thevehicle 100 to adapt to the ever-changing technological demands ofsociety and advances in safety. Among other things, the mechanisms mayprovide for the quick exchange of batteries, capacitors, power sources1308A, 1308B, motors 1312, engines, safety equipment, controllers, userinterfaces, interiors exterior components, body panels 1208, bumpers1316, sensors, etc., and/or combinations thereof. Additionally oralternatively, the mechanisms may provide unique security hardwareand/or software embedded therein that, among other things, can preventfraudulent or low quality construction replacements from being used inthe vehicle 100. Similarly, the mechanisms, subsystems, and/or receivingfeatures in the vehicle 100 may employ poka-yoke, or mistake-proofing,features that ensure a particular mechanism is always interconnectedwith the vehicle 100 in a correct position, function, etc.

By way of example, complete systems or subsystems may be removed and/orreplaced from a vehicle 100 utilizing a single minute exchangeprinciple. In some embodiments, the frame 1204 may include slides,receptacles, cavities, protrusions, and/or a number of other featuresthat allow for quick exchange of system components. In one embodiment,the frame 1204 may include tray or ledge features, mechanicalinterconnection features, locking mechanisms, retaining mechanisms,etc., and/or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, it may bebeneficial to quickly remove a used power source 1308A, 1308B (e.g.,battery unit, capacitor unit, etc.) from the vehicle 100 and replace theused power source 1308A, 1308B with a charged power source. Continuingthis example, the power source 1308A, 1308B may include selectivelyinterchangeable features that interconnect with the frame 1204 or otherportion of the vehicle 100. For instance, in a power source 1308A, 1308Breplacement, the quick release features may be configured to release thepower source 1308A, 1308B from an engaged position and slide or moveaway from the frame 1204 of a vehicle 100. Once removed, the powersource 1308A, 1308B may be replaced (e.g., with a new power source, acharged power source, etc.) by engaging the replacement power sourceinto a system receiving position adjacent to the vehicle 100. In someembodiments, the vehicle 100 may include one or more actuatorsconfigured to position, lift, slide, or otherwise engage the replacementpower source with the vehicle 100. In one embodiment, the replacementpower source may be inserted into the vehicle 100 or vehicle frame 1204with mechanisms and/or machines that are external or separate from thevehicle 100.

In some embodiments, the frame 1204 may include one or more featuresconfigured to selectively interconnect with other vehicles and/orportions of vehicles. These selectively interconnecting features canallow for one or more vehicles to selectively couple together anddecouple for a variety of purposes. For example, it is an aspect of thepresent disclosure that a number of vehicles may be selectively coupledtogether to share energy, increase power output, provide security,decrease power consumption, provide towing services, and/or provide arange of other benefits. Continuing this example, the vehicles may becoupled together based on travel route, destination, preferences,settings, sensor information, and/or some other data. The coupling maybe initiated by at least one controller of the vehicle and/or trafficcontrol system upon determining that a coupling is beneficial to one ormore vehicles in a group of vehicles or a traffic system. As can beappreciated, the power consumption for a group of vehicles traveling ina same direction may be reduced or decreased by removing any aerodynamicseparation between vehicles. In this case, the vehicles may be coupledtogether to subject only the foremost vehicle in the coupling to airand/or wind resistance during travel. In one embodiment, the poweroutput by the group of vehicles may be proportionally or selectivelycontrolled to provide a specific output from each of the one or more ofthe vehicles in the group.

The interconnecting, or coupling, features may be configured aselectromagnetic mechanisms, mechanical couplings, electromechanicalcoupling mechanisms, etc., and/or combinations thereof. The features maybe selectively deployed from a portion of the frame 1204 and/or body ofthe vehicle 100. In some cases, the features may be built into the frame1204 and/or body of the vehicle 100. In any event, the features maydeploy from an unexposed position to an exposed position or may beconfigured to selectively engage/disengage without requiring an exposureor deployment of the mechanism from the frame 1204 and/or body. In someembodiments, the interconnecting features may be configured tointerconnect one or more of power, communications, electrical energy,fuel, and/or the like. One or more of the power, mechanical, and/orcommunications connections between vehicles may be part of a singleinterconnection mechanism. In some embodiments, the interconnectionmechanism may include multiple connection mechanisms. In any event, thesingle interconnection mechanism or the interconnection mechanism mayemploy the poka-yoke features as described above.

The power system of the vehicle 100 may include the powertrain, powerdistribution system, accessory power system, and/or any other componentsthat store power, provide power, convert power, and/or distribute powerto one or more portions of the vehicle 100. The powertrain may includethe one or more electric motors 1312 of the vehicle 100. The electricmotors 1312 are configured to convert electrical energy provided by apower source into mechanical energy. This mechanical energy may be inthe form of a rotational or other output force that is configured topropel or otherwise provide a motive force for the vehicle 100.

In some embodiments, the vehicle 100 may include one or more drivewheels 1320 that are driven by the one or more electric motors 1312 andmotor controllers 1314. In some cases, the vehicle 100 may include anelectric motor 1312 configured to provide a driving force for each drivewheel 1320. In other cases, a single electric motor 1312 may beconfigured to share an output force between two or more drive wheels1320 via one or more power transmission components. It is an aspect ofthe present disclosure that the powertrain include one or more powertransmission components, motor controllers 1314, and/or powercontrollers that can provide a controlled output of power to one or moreof the drive wheels 1320 of the vehicle 100. The power transmissioncomponents, power controllers, or motor controllers 1314 may becontrolled by at least one other vehicle controller described herein.

As provided above, the powertrain of the vehicle 100 may include one ormore power sources 1308A, 1308B. These one or more power sources 1308A,1308B may be configured to provide drive power, system and/or subsystempower, accessory power, etc. While described herein as a single powersource 1308 for sake of clarity, embodiments of the present disclosureare not so limited. For example, it should be appreciated thatindependent, different, or separate power sources 1308A, 1308B mayprovide power to various systems of the vehicle 100. For instance, adrive power source may be configured to provide the power for the one ormore electric motors 1312 of the vehicle 100, while a system powersource may be configured to provide the power for one or more othersystems and/or subsystems of the vehicle 100. Other power sources mayinclude an accessory power source, a backup power source, a criticalsystem power source, and/or other separate power sources. Separating thepower sources 1308A, 1308B in this manner may provide a number ofbenefits over conventional vehicle systems. For example, separating thepower sources 1308A, 1308B allow one power source 1308 to be removedand/or replaced independently without requiring that power be removedfrom all systems and/or subsystems of the vehicle 100 during a powersource 1308 removal/replacement. For instance, one or more of theaccessories, communications, safety equipment, and/or backup powersystems, etc., may be maintained even when a particular power source1308A, 1308B is depleted, removed, or becomes otherwise inoperable.

In some embodiments, the drive power source may be separated into two ormore cells, units, sources, and/or systems. By way of example, a vehicle100 may include a first drive power source 1308A and a second drivepower source 1308B. The first drive power source 1308A may be operatedindependently from or in conjunction with the second drive power source1308B and vice versa. Continuing this example, the first drive powersource 1308A may be removed from a vehicle while a second drive powersource 1308B can be maintained in the vehicle 100 to provide drivepower. This approach allows the vehicle 100 to significantly reduceweight (e.g., of the first drive power source 1308A, etc.) and improvepower consumption, even if only for a temporary period of time. In somecases, a vehicle 100 running low on power may automatically determinethat pulling over to a rest area, emergency lane, and removing, or“dropping off,” at least one power source 1308A, 1308B may reduce enoughweight of the vehicle 100 to allow the vehicle 100 to navigate to theclosest power source replacement and/or charging area. In someembodiments, the removed, or “dropped off,” power source 1308A may becollected by a collection service, vehicle mechanic, tow truck, or evenanother vehicle or individual.

The power source 1308 may include a GPS or other geographical locationsystem that may be configured to emit a location signal to one or morereceiving entities. For instance, the signal may be broadcast ortargeted to a specific receiving party. Additionally or alternatively,the power source 1308 may include a unique identifier that may be usedto associate the power source 1308 with a particular vehicle 100 orvehicle user. This unique identifier may allow an efficient recovery ofthe power source 1308 dropped off. In some embodiments, the uniqueidentifier may provide information for the particular vehicle 100 orvehicle user to be billed or charged with a cost of recovery for thepower source 1308.

The power source 1308 may include a charge controller 1324 that may beconfigured to determine charge levels of the power source 1308, controla rate at which charge is drawn from the power source 1308, control arate at which charge is added to the power source 1308, and/or monitor ahealth of the power source 1308 (e.g., one or more cells, portions,etc.). In some embodiments, the charge controller 1324 or the powersource 1308 may include a communication interface. The communicationinterface can allow the charge controller 1324 to report a state of thepower source 1308 to one or more other controllers of the vehicle 100 oreven communicate with a communication device separate and/or apart fromthe vehicle 100. Additionally or alternatively, the communicationinterface may be configured to receive instructions (e.g., controlinstructions, charge instructions, communication instructions, etc.)from one or more other controllers of the vehicle 100 or a communicationdevice that is separate and/or apart from the vehicle 100.

The powertrain includes one or more power distribution systemsconfigured to transmit power from the power source 1308 to one or moreelectric motors 1312 in the vehicle 100. The power distribution systemmay include electrical interconnections 1328 in the form of cables,wires, traces, wireless power transmission systems, etc., and/orcombinations thereof. It is an aspect of the present disclosure that thevehicle 100 include one or more redundant electrical interconnections1332 of the power distribution system. The redundant electricalinterconnections 1332 can allow power to be distributed to one or moresystems and/or subsystems of the vehicle 100 even in the event of afailure of an electrical interconnection portion of the vehicle 100(e.g., due to an accident, mishap, tampering, or other harm to aparticular electrical interconnection, etc.). In some embodiments, auser of a vehicle 100 may be alerted via a user interface associatedwith the vehicle 100 that a redundant electrical interconnection 1332 isbeing used and/or damage has occurred to a particular area of thevehicle electrical system. In any event, the one or more redundantelectrical interconnections 1332 may be configured along completelydifferent routes than the electrical interconnections 1328 and/orinclude different modes of failure than the electrical interconnections1328 to, among other things, prevent a total interruption powerdistribution in the event of a failure.

In some embodiments, the power distribution system may include an energyrecovery system 1336. This energy recovery system 1336, or kineticenergy recovery system, may be configured to recover energy produced bythe movement of a vehicle 100. The recovered energy may be stored aselectrical and/or mechanical energy. For instance, as a vehicle 100travels or moves, a certain amount of energy is required to accelerate,maintain a speed, stop, or slow the vehicle 100. In any event, a movingvehicle has a certain amount of kinetic energy. When brakes are appliedin a typical moving vehicle, most of the kinetic energy of the vehicleis lost as the generation of heat in the braking mechanism. In an energyrecovery system 1336, when a vehicle 100 brakes, at least a portion ofthe kinetic energy is converted into electrical and/or mechanical energyfor storage. Mechanical energy may be stored as mechanical movement(e.g., in a flywheel, etc.) and electrical energy may be stored inbatteries, capacitors, and/or some other electrical storage system. Insome embodiments, electrical energy recovered may be stored in the powersource 1308. For example, the recovered electrical energy may be used tocharge the power source 1308 of the vehicle 100.

The vehicle 100 may include one or more safety systems. Vehicle safetysystems can include a variety of mechanical and/or electrical componentsincluding, but in no way limited to, low impact or energy-absorbingbumpers 1316A, 1316B, crumple zones, reinforced body panels, reinforcedframe components, impact bars, power source containment zones, safetyglass, seatbelts, supplemental restraint systems, air bags, escapehatches, removable access panels, impact sensors, accelerometers, visionsystems, radar systems, etc., and/or the like. In some embodiments, theone or more of the safety components may include a safety sensor orgroup of safety sensors associated with the one or more of the safetycomponents. For example, a crumple zone may include one or more straingages, impact sensors, pressure transducers, etc. These sensors may beconfigured to detect or determine whether a portion of the vehicle 100has been subjected to a particular force, deformation, or other impact.Once detected, the information collected by the sensors may betransmitted or sent to one or more of a controller of the vehicle 100(e.g., a safety controller, vehicle controller, etc.) or a communicationdevice associated with the vehicle 100 (e.g., across a communicationnetwork, etc.).

FIG. 14 shows a plan view of the vehicle 100 in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 14 shows abroken section 1402 of a charging system for the vehicle 100. Thecharging system may include a plug or receptacle 1404 configured toreceive power from an external power source (e.g., a source of powerthat is external to and/or separate from the vehicle 100, etc.). Anexample of an external power source may include the standard industrial,commercial, or residential power that is provided across power lines.Another example of an external power source may include a proprietarypower system configured to provide power to the vehicle 100. In anyevent, power received at the plug/receptacle 1404 may be transferred viaat least one power transmission interconnection 1408. Similar, if notidentical, to the electrical interconnections 1328 described above, theat least one power transmission interconnection 1408 may be one or morecables, wires, traces, wireless power transmission systems, etc., and/orcombinations thereof. Electrical energy in the form of charge can betransferred from the external power source to the charge controller1324. As provided above, the charge controller 1324 may regulate theaddition of charge to the power source 1308 of the vehicle 100 (e.g.,until the power source 1308 is full or at a capacity, etc.).

In some embodiments, the vehicle 100 may include an inductive chargingsystem and inductive charger 1412. The inductive charger 1412 may beconfigured to receive electrical energy from an inductive power sourceexternal to the vehicle 100. In one embodiment, when the vehicle 100and/or the inductive charger 1412 is positioned over an inductive powersource external to the vehicle 100, electrical energy can be transferredfrom the inductive power source to the vehicle 100. For example, theinductive charger 1412 may receive the charge and transfer the chargevia at least one power transmission interconnection 1408 to the chargecontroller 1324 and/or the power source 1308 of the vehicle 100. Theinductive charger 1412 may be concealed in a portion of the vehicle 100(e.g., at least partially protected by the frame 1204, one or more bodypanels 1208, a shroud, a shield, a protective cover, etc., and/orcombinations thereof) and/or may be deployed from the vehicle 100. Insome embodiments, the inductive charger 1412 may be configured toreceive charge only when the inductive charger 1412 is deployed from thevehicle 100. In other embodiments, the inductive charger 1412 may beconfigured to receive charge while concealed in the portion of thevehicle 100.

In addition to the mechanical components described herein, the vehicle100 may include a number of user interface devices. The user interfacedevices receive and translate human input into a mechanical movement orelectrical signal or stimulus. The human input may be one or more ofmotion (e.g., body movement, body part movement, in two-dimensional orthree-dimensional space, etc.), voice, touch, and/or physicalinteraction with the components of the vehicle 100. In some embodiments,the human input may be configured to control one or more functions ofthe vehicle 100 and/or systems of the vehicle 100 described herein. Userinterfaces may include, but are in no way limited to, at least onegraphical user interface of a display device, steering wheel ormechanism, transmission lever or button (e.g., including park, neutral,reverse, and/or drive positions, etc.), throttle control pedal ormechanism, brake control pedal or mechanism, power control switch,communications equipment, etc.

An embodiment of the electrical system 1500 associated with the vehicle100 may be as shown in FIG. 15. The electrical system 1500 can includepower source(s) that generate power, power storage that stores power,and/or load(s) that consume power. Power sources may be associated witha power generation unit 1504. Power storage may be associated with apower storage system 612. Loads may be associated with loads 1508. Theelectrical system 1500 may be managed by a power management controller1324. Further, the electrical system 1500 can include one or more otherinterfaces or controllers, which can include the billing and costcontrol unit 1512.

The power generation unit 1504 may be as described in conjunction withFIG. 16. The power storage component 612 may be as described inconjunction with FIG. 17. The loads 1508 may be as described inconjunction with FIG. 18.

The billing and cost control unit 1512 may interface with the powermanagement controller 1324 to determine the amount of charge or powerprovided to the power storage 612 through the power generation unit1504. The billing and cost control unit 1512 can then provideinformation for billing the vehicle owner. Thus, the billing and costcontrol unit 1512 can receive and/or send power information to thirdparty system(s) regarding the received charge from an external source.The information provided can help determine an amount of money required,from the owner of the vehicle, as payment for the provided power.Alternatively, or in addition, if the owner of the vehicle providedpower to another vehicle (or another device/system), that owner may beowed compensation for the provided power or energy, e.g., a credit.

The power management controller 1324 can be a computer or computingsystem(s) and/or electrical system with associated components, asdescribed herein, capable of managing the power generation unit 1504 toreceive power, routing the power to the power storage 612, and thenproviding the power from either the power generation unit 1504 and/orthe power storage 612 to the loads 1508. Thus, the power managementcontroller 1324 may execute programming that controls switches, devices,components, etc. involved in the reception, storage, and provision ofthe power in the electrical system 1500.

An embodiment of the power generation unit 1504 may be as shown in FIG.16. Generally, the power generation unit 1504 may be electricallycoupled to one or more power sources 1308. The power sources 1308 caninclude power sources internal and/or associated with the vehicle 100and/or power sources external to the vehicle 100 to which the vehicle100 electrically connects. One of the internal power sources can includean on board generator 1604. The generator 1604 may be an alternatingcurrent (AC) generator, a direct current (DC) generator or aself-excited generator. The AC generators can include inductiongenerators, linear electric generators, and/or other types ofgenerators. The DC generators can include homopolar generators and/orother types of generators. The generator 1604 can be brushless orinclude brush contacts and generate the electric field with permanentmagnets or through induction. The generator 1604 may be mechanicallycoupled to a source of kinetic energy, such as an axle or some otherpower take-off. The generator 1604 may also have another mechanicalcoupling to an exterior source of kinetic energy, for example, a windturbine.

Another power source 1308 may include wired or wireless charging 1608.The wireless charging system 1608 may include inductive and/or resonantfrequency inductive charging systems that can include coils, frequencygenerators, controllers, etc. Wired charging may be any kind ofgrid-connected charging that has a physical connection, although, thewireless charging may be grid connected through a wireless interface.The wired charging system can include an connectors, wiredinterconnections, the controllers, etc. The wired and wireless chargingsystems1608 can provide power to the power generation unit 1504 fromexternal power sources 1308.

Internal sources for power may include a regenerative braking system1612. The regenerative braking system 1612 can convert the kineticenergy of the moving car into electrical energy through a generationsystem mounted within the wheels, axle, and/or braking system of thevehicle 100. The regenerative braking system 1612 can include any coils,magnets, electrical interconnections, converters, controllers, etc.required to convert the kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Another source of power 1308, internal to or associated with the vehicle100, may be a solar array 1616. The solar array 1616 may include anysystem or device of one or more solar cells mounted on the exterior ofthe vehicle 100 or integrated within the body panels of the vehicle 100that provides or converts solar energy into electrical energy to provideto the power generation unit 1504.

The power sources 1308 may be connected to the power generation unit1504 through an electrical interconnection 1618. The electricalinterconnection 1618 can include any wire, interface, bus, etc. betweenthe one or more power sources 1308 and the power generation unit 1504.

The power generation unit 1504 can also include a power source interface1620. The power source interface 1620 can be any type of physical and/orelectrical interface used to receive the electrical energy from the oneor more power sources 1308; thus, the power source interface 1620 caninclude an electrical interface 1624 that receives the electrical energyand a mechanical interface 1628 which may include wires, connectors, orother types of devices or physical connections. The mechanical interface1608 can also include a physical/electrical connection 1634 to the powergeneration unit 1504.

The electrical energy from the power source 1308 can be processedthrough the power source interface 1624 to an electric converter 1632.The electric converter 1632 may convert the characteristics of the powerfrom one of the power sources into a useable form that may be usedeither by the power storage 612 or one or more loads 1508 within thevehicle 100. The electrical converter 1624 may include any electronicsor electrical devices and/or component that can change electricalcharacteristics, e.g., AC frequency, amplitude, phase, etc. associatedwith the electrical energy provided by the power source 1308. Theconverted electrical energy may then be provided to an optionalconditioner 1638. The conditioner 1638 may include any electronics orelectrical devices and/or component that may further condition theconverted electrical energy by removing harmonics, noise, etc. from theelectrical energy to provide a more stable and effective form of powerto the vehicle 100.

An embodiment of the power storage 1612 may be as shown in FIG. 17. Thepower storage unit can include an electrical converter 1632 b, one ormore batteries, one or more rechargeable batteries, one or morecapacitors, one or more accumulators, one or more supercapacitors, oneor more ultrabatteries, and/or superconducting magnetics 1704, and/or acharge management unit 1708. The converter 1632 b may be the same orsimilar to the electrical converter 1632 a shown in FIG. 16. Theconverter 1632 b may be a replacement for the electric converter 1632 ashown in FIG. 16 and thus eliminate the need for the electricalconverter 1632 a as shown in FIG. 16. However, if the electricalconverter 1632 a is provided in the power generation unit 1504, theconverter 1632 b, as shown in the power storage unit 612, may beeliminated. The converter 1632 b can also be redundant or different fromthe electrical converter 1632 a shown in FIG. 16 and may provide adifferent form of energy to the battery and/or capacitors 1704. Thus,the converter 1632 b can change the energy characteristics specificallyfor the battery/capacitor 1704.

The battery 1704 can be any type of battery for storing electricalenergy, for example, a lithium ion battery, a lead acid battery, anickel cadmium battery, etc. Further, the battery 1704 may includedifferent types of power storage systems, such as, ionic fluids or othertypes of fuel cell systems. The energy storage 1704 may also include oneor more high-capacity capacitors 1704. The capacitors 1704 may be usedfor long-term or short-term storage of electrical energy. The input intothe battery or capacitor 1704 may be different from the output, andthus, the capacitor 1704 may be charged quickly but drain slowly. Thefunctioning of the converter 1632 and battery capacitor 1704 may bemonitored or managed by a charge management unit 1708.

The charge management unit 1708 can include any hardware (e.g., anyelectronics or electrical devices and/or components), software, orfirmware operable to adjust the operations of the converter 1632 orbatteries/capacitors 1704. The charge management unit 1708 can receiveinputs or periodically monitor the converter 1632 and/orbattery/capacitor 1704 from this information; the charge management unit1708 may then adjust settings or inputs into the converter 1632 orbattery/capacitor 1704 to control the operation of the power storagesystem 612.

An embodiment of one or more loads 1508 associated with the vehicle 100may be as shown in FIG. 18. The loads 1508 may include a bus orelectrical interconnection system 1802, which provides electrical energyto one or more different loads within the vehicle 100. The bus 1802 canbe any number of wires or interfaces used to connect the powergeneration unit 1504 and/or power storage 1612 to the one or more loads1508. The converter 1632 c may be an interface from the power generationunit 1504 or the power storage 612 into the loads 1508. The converter1632c may be the same or similar to electric converter 1632 a as shownin FIG. 16. Similar to the discussion of the converter 1632 b in FIG.17, the converter 1632 c may be eliminated, if the electric converter1632 a, shown in FIG. 16, is present. However, the converter 1632 c mayfurther condition or change the energy characteristics for the bus 1802for use by the loads 1508. The converter 1632 c may also provideelectrical energy to electric motor 1804, which may power the vehicle100.

The electric motor 1804 can be any type of DC or AC electric motor. Theelectric motor may be a direct drive or induction motor using permanentmagnets and/or winding either on the stator or rotor. The electric motor1804 may also be wireless or include brush contacts. The electric motor1804 may be capable of providing a torque and enough kinetic energy tomove the vehicle 100 in traffic.

The different loads 1508 may also include environmental loads 1812,sensor loads 1816, safety loads 1820, user interaction loads 1808, etc.User interaction loads 1808 can be any energy used by user interfaces orsystems that interact with the driver and/or passenger(s). These loads1808 may include, for example, the heads up display, the dash display,the radio, user interfaces on the head unit, lights, radio, and/or othertypes of loads that provide or receive information from the occupants ofthe vehicle 100. The environmental loads 1812 can be any loads used tocontrol the environment within the vehicle 100. For example, the airconditioning or heating unit of the vehicle 100 can be environmentalloads 1812. Other environmental loads can include lights, fans, and/ordefrosting units, etc. that may control the environment within thevehicle 100. The sensor loads 1816 can be any loads used by sensors, forexample, air bag sensors, GPS, and other such sensors used to eithermanage or control the vehicle 100 and/or provide information or feedbackto the vehicle occupants. The safety loads 1820 can include any safetyequipment, for example, seat belt alarms, airbags, headlights, blinkers,etc. that may be used to manage the safety of the occupants. There maybe more or fewer loads than those described herein, although they maynot be shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary hardware diagram of communicationscomponentry that can be optionally associated with the vehicle.

The communications componentry can include one or more wired or wirelessdevices such as a transceiver(s) and/or modem that allows communicationsnot only between the various systems disclosed herein but also withother devices, such as devices on a network, and/or on a distributednetwork such as the Internet and/or in the cloud.

The communications subsystem can also include inter- and intra-vehiclecommunications capabilities such as hotspot and/or access pointconnectivity for any one or more of the vehicle occupants and/orvehicle-to-vehicle communications.

Additionally, and while not specifically illustrated, the communicationssubsystem can include one or more communications links (that can bewired or wireless) and/or communications busses (managed by the busmanager 1974), including one or more of CANbus, OBD-II, ARCINC 429,Byteflight, CAN (Controller Area Network), D2B (Domestic Digital Bus),FlexRay, DC-BUS, IDB-1394, IEBus, I²C, ISO 9141-1/-2, J1708, J1587,J1850, J1939, ISO 11783, Keyword Protocol 2000, LIN (Local InterconnectNetwork), MOST (Media Oriended Systems Transport), Multifunction VehicleBus, SMARTwireX, SPI, VAN (Vehicle Area Network), and the like or ingeneral any communications protocol and/or standard.

The various protocols and communications can be communicated one or moreof wirelessly and/or over transmission media such as single wire,twisted pair, fibre optic, IEEE 1394, MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1773,power-line communication, or the like. (All of the above standards andprotocols are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety)

As discussed, the communications subsystem enables communicationsbetween any if the inter-vehicle systems and subsystems as well ascommunications with non-collocated resources, such as those reachableover a network such as the Internet.

The communications subsystem, in addition to well-known componentry(which has been omitted for clarity), the device communicationssubsystem 1900 includes interconnected elements including one or moreof: one or more antennas 1904, an interleaver/deinterleaver 1908, ananalog front end (AFE) 1912, memory/storage/cache 1916,controller/microprocessor 1920, MAC circuitry 1922,modulator/demodulator 1924, encoder/decoder 1928, a plurality ofconnectivity managers 1934-1966, GPU 1940, accelerator 1944, amultiplexer/demultiplexer 1954, transmitter 1970, receiver 1972 andwireless radio 1978 components such as a Wi-Fi PHY/Bluetooth® module1980, a Wi-Fi/BT MAC module 1984, transmitter 1988 and receiver 1992.The various elements in the device 1900 are connected by one or morelinks/busses 5 (not shown, again for sake of clarity).

The device 400 can have one more antennas 1904, for use in wirelesscommunications such as multi-input multi-output (MIMO) communications,multi-user multi-input multi-output (MU-MIMO) communications Bluetooth®,LTE, 4G, 5G, Near-Field Communication (NFC), etc. The antenna(s) 1904can include, but are not limited to one or more of directional antennas,omnidirectional antennas, monopoles, patch antennas, loop antennas,microstrip antennas, dipoles, and any other antenna(s) suitable forcommunication transmission/reception. In an exemplary embodiment,transmission/reception using MIMO may require particular antennaspacing. In another exemplary embodiment, MIMO transmission/receptioncan enable spatial diversity allowing for different channelcharacteristics at each of the antennas. In yet another embodiment, MIMOtransmission/reception can be used to distribute resources to multipleusers for example within the vehicle and/or in another vehicle.

Antenna(s) 1904 generally interact with the Analog Front End (AFE) 1912,which is needed to enable the correct processing of the receivedmodulated signal and signal conditioning for a transmitted signal. TheAFE 1912 can be functionally located between the antenna and a digitalbaseband system in order to convert the analog signal into a digitalsignal for processing and vice-versa.

The subsystem 1900 can also include a controller/microprocessor 1920 anda memory/storage/cache 1916. The subsystem 1900 can interact with thememory/storage/cache 1916 which may store information and operationsnecessary for configuring and transmitting or receiving the informationdescribed herein. The memory/storage/cache 1916 may also be used inconnection with the execution of application programming or instructionsby the controller/microprocessor 1920, and for temporary or long termstorage of program instructions and/or data. As examples, thememory/storage/cache 1920 may comprise a computer-readable device, RAM,ROM, DRAM, SDRAM, and/or other storage device(s) and media.

The controller/microprocessor 1920 may comprise a general purposeprogrammable processor or controller for executing applicationprogramming or instructions related to the subsystem 1900. Furthermore,the controller/microprocessor 1920 can perform operations forconfiguring and transmitting/receiving information as described herein.The controller/microprocessor 1920 may include multiple processor cores,and/or implement multiple virtual processors. Optionally, thecontroller/microprocessor 1920 may include multiple physical processors.By way of example, the controller/microprocessor 1920 may comprise aspecially configured Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) orother integrated circuit, a digital signal processor(s), a controller, ahardwired electronic or logic circuit, a programmable logic device orgate array, a special purpose computer, or the like.

The subsystem 1900 can further include a transmitter 1970 and receiver1972 which can transmit and receive signals, respectively, to and fromother devices, subsystems and/or other destinations using the one ormore antennas 1904 and/or links/busses. Included in the subsystem 1900circuitry is the medium access control or MAC Circuitry 1922. MACcircuitry 1922 provides for controlling access to the wireless medium.In an exemplary embodiment, the MAC circuitry 1922 may be arranged tocontend for the wireless medium and configure frames or packets forcommunicating over the wireless medium.

The subsystem 1900 can also optionally contain a security module (notshown). This security module can contain information regarding but notlimited to, security parameters required to connect the device to one ormore other devices or other available network(s), and can include WEP orWPA/WPA-2 (optionally+AES and/or TKIP) security access keys, networkkeys, etc. The WEP security access key is a security password used byWi-Fi networks. Knowledge of this code can enable a wireless device toexchange information with an access point and/or another device. Theinformation exchange can occur through encoded messages with the WEPaccess code often being chosen by the network administrator. WPA is anadded security standard that is also used in conjunction with networkconnectivity with stronger encryption than WEP.

The exemplary subsystem 1900 also includes a GPU 1940, an accelerator1944, a Wi-Fi/BT/BLE PHY module 1980 and a Wi-Fi/BT/BLE MAC module 1984and wireless transmitter 1988 and receiver 1992. In some embodiments,the GPU 1940 may be a graphics processing unit, or visual processingunit, comprising at least one circuit and/or chip that manipulates andchanges memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame bufferfor output to at least one display device. The GPU 1940 may include oneor more of a display device connection port, printed circuit board(PCB), a GPU chip, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor(MOSFET), memory (e.g., single data rate random-access memory (SDRAM),double data rate random-access memory (DDR) RAM, etc., and/orcombinations thereof), a secondary processing chip (e.g., handling videoout capabilities, processing, and/or other functions in addition to theGPU chip, etc.), a capacitor, heatsink, temperature control or coolingfan, motherboard connection, shielding, and the like.

The various connectivity managers 1934-1966 (even) manage and/orcoordinate communications between the subsystem 1900 and one or more ofthe systems disclosed herein and one or more other devices/systems. Theconnectivity managers include an emergency charging connectivity manager1934, an aerial charging connectivity manager 1938, a roadway chargingconnectivity manager 1942, an overhead charging connectivity manager1946, a robotic charging connectivity manager 1950, a static chargingconnectivity manager 1954, a vehicle database connectivity manager 1958,a remote operating system connectivity manager 1962 and a sensorconnectivity manager 1966.

The emergency charging connectivity manager 1934 can coordinate not onlythe physical connectivity between the vehicle and the emergency chargingdevice/vehicle, but can also communicate with one or more of the powermanagement controller, one or more third parties and optionally abilling system(s). As an example, the vehicle can establishcommunications with the emergency charging device/vehicle to one or moreof coordinate interconnectivity between the two (e.g., by spatiallyaligning the charging receptacle on the vehicle with the charger on theemergency charging vehicle) and optionally share navigation information.Once charging is complete, the amount of charge provided can be trackedand optionally forwarded to, for example, a third party for billing. Inaddition to being able to manage connectivity for the exchange of power,the emergency charging connectivity manager 1934 can also communicateinformation, such as billing information to the emergency chargingvehicle and/or a third party. This billing information could be, forexample, the owner of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, companyinformation, or in general any information usable to charge theappropriate entity for the power received.

The aerial charging connectivity manager 1938 can coordinate not onlythe physical connectivity between the vehicle and the aerial chargingdevice/vehicle, but can also communicate with one or more of the powermanagement controller, one or more third parties and optionally abilling system(s). As an example, the vehicle can establishcommunications with the aerial charging device/vehicle to one or more ofcoordinate interconnectivity between the two (e.g., by spatiallyaligning the charging receptacle on the vehicle with the charger on theemergency charging vehicle) and optionally share navigation information.Once charging is complete, the amount of charge provided can be trackedand optionally forwarded to, for example, a third party for billing. Inaddition to being able to manage connectivity for the exchange of power,the aerial charging connectivity manager 1938 can similarly communicateinformation, such as billing information to the aerial charging vehicleand/or a third party. This billing information could be, for example,the owner of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, companyinformation, or in general any information usable to charge theappropriate entity for the power received etc., as discussed.

The roadway charging connectivity manager 1942 and overhead chargingconnectivity manager 1946 can coordinate not only the physicalconnectivity between the vehicle and the charging device/system, but canalso communicate with one or more of the power management controller,one or more third parties and optionally a billing system(s). As oneexample, the vehicle can request a charge from the charging system when,for example, the vehicle needs or is predicted to need power. As anexample, the vehicle can establish communications with the chargingdevice/vehicle to one or more of coordinate interconnectivity betweenthe two for charging and share information for billing. Once charging iscomplete, the amount of charge provided can be tracked and optionallyforwarded to, for example, a third party for billing. This billinginformation could be, for example, the owner of the vehicle, the driverof the vehicle, company information, or in general any informationusable to charge the appropriate entity for the power received etc., asdiscussed. The person responsible for paying for the charge could alsoreceive a copy of the billing information as is customary. The roboticcharging connectivity manager 1950 and static charging connectivitymanager 1954 can operate in a similar manner to that described herein.

The vehicle database connectivity manager 1958 allows the subsystem toreceive and/or share information stored in the vehicle database. Thisinformation can be shared with other vehicle components/subsystemsand/or other entities, such as third parties and/or charging systems.The information can also be shared with one or more vehicle occupantdevices, such as an app on a mobile device the driver uses to trackinformation about the vehicle and/or a dealer or service/maintenanceprovider. In general any information stored in the vehicle database canoptionally be shared with any one or more other devices optionallysubject to any privacy or confidentially restrictions.

The remote operating system connectivity manager 1962 facilitatescommunications between the vehicle and any one or more autonomousvehicle systems. These communications can include one or more ofnavigation information, vehicle information, occupant information, or ingeneral any information related to the remote operation of the vehicle.

The sensor connectivity manager 1966 facilitates communications betweenany one or more of the vehicle sensors and any one or more of the othervehicle systems. The sensor connectivity manager 1966 can alsofacilitate communications between any one or more of the sensors and/orvehicle systems and any other destination, such as a service company,app, or in general to any destination where sensor data is needed.

In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, any of the communicationsdiscussed herein can be communicated via the conductor(s) used forcharging. One exemplary protocol usable for these communications isPower-line communication (PLC). PLC is a communication protocol thatuses electrical wiring to simultaneously carry both data, andAlternating Current (AC) electric power transmission or electric powerdistribution. It is also known as power-line carrier, power-line digitalsubscriber line (PDSL), mains communication, power-linetelecommunications, or power-line networking (PLN). For DC environmentsin vehicles PLC can be used in conjunction with CAN-bus, LIN-bus overpower line (DC-LIN) and DC-BUS.

The communications subsystem can also optionally manage one or moreidentifiers, such as an IP (internet protocol) address(es), associatedwith the vehicle and one or other system or subsystems or componentstherein. These identifiers can be used in conjunction with any one ormore of the connectivity managers as discussed herein.

FIG. 19B illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment 1901that may function as the servers, user computers, or other systemsprovided and described above. The environment 1901 includes one or moreuser computers, or computing devices, such as a vehicle computing device1903, a communication device 1907, and/or more 1911. The computingdevices 1903, 1907, 1911 may include general purpose personal computers(including, merely by way of example, personal computers, and/or laptopcomputers running various versions of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows® and/orApple Corp.'s Macintosh® operating systems) and/or workstation computersrunning any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-likeoperating systems. These computing devices 1903, 1907, 1911 may alsohave any of a variety of applications, including for example, databaseclient and/or server applications, and web browser applications.Alternatively, the computing devices 1903, 1907, 1911 may be any otherelectronic device, such as a thin-client computer, Internet-enabledmobile telephone, and/or personal digital assistant, capable ofcommunicating via a network 1909 and/or displaying and navigating webpages or other types of electronic documents. Although the exemplarycomputer environment 1901 is shown with two computing devices, anynumber of user computers or computing devices may be supported.

Environment 1901 further includes a network 1909. The network 1909 maycan be any type of network familiar to those skilled in the art that cansupport data communications using any of a variety ofcommercially-available protocols, including without limitation SIP,TCP/IP, SNA, IPX, AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way of example, thenetwork 1909 maybe a local area network (“LAN”), such as an Ethernetnetwork, a Token-Ring network and/or the like; a wide-area network; avirtual network, including without limitation a virtual private network(“VPN”); the Internet; an intranet; an extranet; a public switchedtelephone network (“PSTN”); an infra-red network; a wireless network(e.g., a network operating under any of the IEEE 802.9 suite ofprotocols, the Bluetooth® protocol known in the art, and/or any otherwireless protocol); and/or any combination of these and/or othernetworks.

The system may also include one or more servers 1913, 1915. In thisexample, server 1913 is shown as a web server and server 1915 is shownas an application server. The web server 1913, which may be used toprocess requests for web pages or other electronic documents fromcomputing devices 1903, 1907, 1911. The web server 1913 can be runningan operating system including any of those discussed above, as well asany commercially-available server operating systems. The web server 1913can also run a variety of server applications, including SIP servers,HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, database servers, Java servers,and the like. In some instances, the web server 1913 may publishoperations available operations as one or more web services.

The environment 1901 may also include one or more file andor/application servers 1915, which can, in addition to an operatingsystem, include one or more applications accessible by a client runningon one or more of the computing devices 1903, 1907, 1911. The server(s)1915 and/or 1913 may be one or more general purpose computers capable ofexecuting programs or scripts in response to the computing devices 1903,1907, 1911. As one example, the server 1915, 1913 may execute one ormore web applications. The web application may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava™, C, C#®, or C++, and/or any scripting language, such as Perl,Python, or TCL, as well as combinations of any programming/scriptinglanguages. The application server(s) 1915 may also include databaseservers, including without limitation those commercially available fromOracle, Microsoft, Sybase™, IBM™ and the like, which can processrequests from database clients running on a computing device 1903, 1907,1911.

The web pages created by the server 1913 and/or 1915 may be forwarded toa computing device 1903, 1907, 1911 via a web (file) server 1913, 1915.Similarly, the web server 1913 may be able to receive web page requests,web services invocations, and/or input data from a computing device1903, 1907, 1911 (e.g., a user computer, etc.) and can forward the webpage requests and/or input data to the web (application) server 1915. Infurther embodiments, the server 1915 may function as a file server.Although for ease of description, FIG. 19B illustrates a separate webserver 1913 and file/application server 1915, those skilled in the artwill recognize that the functions described with respect to servers1913, 1915 may be performed by a single server and/or a plurality ofspecialized servers, depending on implementation-specific needs andparameters. The computer systems 1903, 1907, 1911, web (file) server1913 and/or web (application) server 1915 may function as the system,devices, or components described in FIGS. 1-19A.

The environment 1901 may also include a database 1917. The database 1917may reside in a variety of locations. By way of example, database 1917may reside on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or moreof the computers 1903, 1907, 1911, 1913, 1915. Alternatively, it may beremote from any or all of the computers 1903, 1907, 1911, 1913, 1915,and in communication (e.g., via the network 1909) with one or more ofthese. The database 1917 may reside in a storage-area network (“SAN”)familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to the computers 1903, 1907, 1911,1913, 1915 may be stored locally on the respective computer and/orremotely, as appropriate. The database 1917 may be a relationaldatabase, such as Oracle 20i®, that is adapted to store, update, andretrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 19C illustrates one embodiment of a computer system 1919 upon whichthe servers, user computers, computing devices, or other systems orcomponents described above may be deployed or executed. The computersystem 1919 is shown comprising hardware elements that may beelectrically coupled via a bus 1921. The hardware elements may includeone or more central processing units (CPUs) 1923; one or more inputdevices 1925 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.); and one or more outputdevices 1927 (e.g., a display device, a printer, etc.). The computersystem 1919 may also include one or more storage devices 1929. By way ofexample, storage device(s) 1929 may be disk drives, optical storagedevices, solid-state storage devices such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like.

The computer system 1919 may additionally include a computer-readablestorage media reader 1931; a communications system 1933 (e.g., a modem,a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device,etc.); and working memory 1937, which may include RAM and ROM devices asdescribed above. The computer system 1919 may also include a processingacceleration unit 1935, which can include a DSP, a special-purposeprocessor, and/or the like.

The computer-readable storage media reader 1931 can further be connectedto a computer-readable storage medium, together (and, optionally, incombination with storage device(s) 1929) comprehensively representingremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 1933 may permitdata to be exchanged with a network and/or any other computer describedabove with respect to the computer environments described herein.Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “storage medium” may representone or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic diskstorage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/orother machine readable mediums for storing information.

The computer system 1919 may also comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within a working memory 1937, including anoperating system 1939 and/or other code 1941. It should be appreciatedthat alternate embodiments of a computer system 1919 may have numerousvariations from that described above. For example, customized hardwaremight also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented inhardware, software (including portable software, such as applets), orboth. Further, connection to other computing devices such as networkinput/output devices may be employed.

Examples of the processors 1923 as described herein may include, but arenot limited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801,Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 620 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bitcomputing, Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7motion coprocessors, Samsung° Exynos° series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel° Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel° Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™ processors, ARM®Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, other industry-equivalentprocessors, and may perform computational functions

FIG. 20 depicts a vehicle including a safety shielding system inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted inFIG. 20, the electric vehicle 100 may include one or more shieldingunits that shield an electromagnetic field that may exist or otherwiseintensify during a charging process. During inductive charging forexample, large amounts of electrical and/or magnetic fields are created.In some circumstances and/or situations, these fields may disruptelectrical communications and/or interfere with electrical andelectronic devices. Further, in some circumstances (e.g., people withpace makers), these large amounts of electrical and/or magnetic fieldsmay be dangerous. Accordingly, and in accordance with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure, the electric vehicle 100 mayinclude one or more shielding units that at least partially create afaraday cage, or a faraday cage-like assembly, around a passengercompartment of the electric vehicle 100. Such faraday cage assembly mayinclude the use of metal components in the glass, body, frame, etc. thatcan be grounded, either to the chassis ground or earth ground forexample.

A Faraday cage operates because an external electrical field causes theelectric charges within the cage's conducting material to be distributedsuch that they cancel the field's effect in the cage's interior. Thisphenomenon is used to protect sensitive electronic equipment fromexternal radio frequency interference (RFI). Accordingly, a Faraday cagemay enclose a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle 100.Although Faraday cages cannot block static or slowly varying magneticfields, such as the Earth's magnetic field (a compass will still workinside), such high power magnetic fields generated during an inductivecharging process may be reduced, minimized, or otherwise blocked.Accordingly, a Faraday cage may shield the interior of the electricvehicle 100 from external electromagnetic radiation as long as theshielding conductor is thick enough and any holes are significantlysmaller than the wavelength of the radiation. For example, certaincomputer forensic test procedures of electronic systems that require anenvironment free of electromagnetic interference can be carried outwithin a compartment or room inside of a Faraday cage. To protect suchspaces, they are completely enclosed by one or more layers of a finemetal mesh or perforated sheet metal. The metal layers are grounded todissipate any electric currents generated from external or internalelectromagnetic fields, and thus they block a large amount of theelectromagnetic interference. In accordance with embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the shielding implemented in the shielding safetysystem 2100 may be grounded. The ground may be chassis reference ground(e.g., a measurement of potential with respect to the chassis).

As previously discussed, inductive charging generally uses anelectromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects throughelectromagnetic induction. In accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure, energy is transferred from an external power source 516 toan electrical storage unit 612 included in the electric vehicle 100.Accordingly, energy is sent through an inductive coupling to theelectrical storage unit 612.

Induction charging tend to use an induction coil to create analternating electromagnetic field from within a charging base, and asecond induction coil in the portable device takes power from theelectromagnetic field and converts it back into electric current tocharge the battery. Accordingly, it is these electromagnetic fields thatmay be shielded by the safety shielding system 2000 in FIG. 20. That is,the safety shielding system 2000 aims to reduce and/or eliminate thesignificant amounts of power that is transferred across what iseffectively an open interface and reduce the radiation and interference.

The safety shielding system 2000 can take a variety of forms. Typically,such shielding is located around a transmitter or charger plat 620 tocontain or isolate the power transmitted and prevent the powertransmitted from going to a region where it is not required. Shieldingcan also be located around or above the charging plate 608. Aspreviously discussed, stray magnetic flux caused during wireless powertransmission can adversely affect many devices. That is, the magneticfield used for wireless power transmission interferes with devices, suchas pacemakers, watches, and communication devices, being used. Moreover,the magnetic field tends to cause battery heating which can reducebattery life. Stray magnetic fields may cause eddy currents in metallicparts on the devices or elsewhere which may give rise to local heatingor other unwanted effects. Accordingly, to prevent interference frominductive power transmission, some type of shielding must beimplemented. Importantly, at least one shield is located between thecharging plate 608 and the passenger compartment.

There tend to be two main ways to implement shielding in an inductivecharging system. The first method involves magnetic flux diversion. Inmany cases, shielding can be constructed using material having a greaterpermeability that is greater than the permeability in free space.Permeability is the measure of the ability of a material to support theformation of a magnetic field within itself. Accordingly, by using amaterial with a permeability that is greater than the permeability infree space, the magnetic flux can be concentered in a low reluctancepath which can then be used to contain the magnetic field and preventsuch field from reaching regions where it is not desired. Thus, thematerial having a high permeability must be thick enough to create suchlow reluctance path. Generally, a ferrite is used. Alternatively, or inaddition, a mu-metal may be used.

A mu-metal tends to be a nickel—iron soft magnetic alloy with very highpermeability suitable for shielding sensitive electronic equipmentagainst static or low-frequency magnetic fields. Mu-metals have severalcompositions. One such composition is approximately 77% nickel, 16%iron, 5% copper and 2% chromium or molybdenum. Another composition isconsidered to be ASTM A753 Alloy 4 and is composed of approximately 80%nickel, 5% molybdenum, small amounts of various other elements such assilicon, and the remaining 12 to 15% iron. Other different proprietaryformulations of mu-metals include alloys sold under trade names such asMuMETAL, Mumetal1, and Mumetal2.

Mu-metals typically have relative permeability values of 80,000-100,000compared to several thousand for ordinary steel. It is a “soft” magneticmaterial meaning it has low magnetic anisotropy and magnetostriction,giving it a low coercivity so that it saturates at low magnetic fields.Accordingly, mu-metals have low hysteresis losses when used in ACmagnetic circuits. Other high-permeability nickel—iron alloys such aspermalloy have similar magnetic properties; mu-metal's advantage is thatit is more ductile and workable, allowing it to be easily formed intothe thin sheets needed for magnetic shields.

The second way shielding can be implemented involves the generation ofan opposing flux. That is, utilizing faraday's law, an equal amount ofopposite flux can be generated which tend to minimize and/or remove theeffects of the excess magnetic flux. By implementing inductive powertransmission shielding, power can be transferred where it is required,without causing undue interference to any item of electronic equipmentin the vicinity of such equipment.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the shieldingsafety system 2000 includes one or more of a firewall shield 2010,undercarriage shield 2020, roof shield 2030, windshield shield 2050,door panel shield 2060 a, door panel shield 2060 b, window shield 2070,quarter panel shield 2090, and/or trunk/interior separator shield 2095.Importantly, at least one shield is located between the charging plate608 and the passenger compartment. Moreover, the seat 2080 may include aseat shield 2085. Of course, more or less portions of the electricvehicle 100 may include similar or the same shields. That is forexample, though the driver's side quarter panel shield 2090 isillustrated, it should be understood that the quarter panel shield 2090may equally refer to the quarter panel shield 2090 on the passenger'sside. Similarly, although the windshield shield 2050 and the windowshield 2065 are displayed, the electric vehicle 100 pillars may equallybe shield. That is, in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the passenger compartment or interior space of the electricvehicle 100 is to be formed in such a manner as to shield saidcompartments from electromagnetic waves and/or magnetic fields. In usingthe term shield, such fields are attenuated and/or minimized. Each ofthe firewall shield 2010, undercarriage shield 2020, roof shield 2030,windshield shield 2050, door panel shield 2060 a, door panel shield 2060b, door panel shield 2060 b, window shield 2070, quarter panel shield2090, and/or trunk/interior separator shield 2095 may be interconnected,coupled, or otherwise in communication with one another and may becoupled or electrically connected to the chassis ground. In someinstances, a deployable grounding rod 2035 may exist. Such deployablegrounding rod 2030 may extend to contact Earth ground, such as the road,a grounding pad, or the like, and may cause the chassis ground to becomethe same or similar potential as an Earth ground.

Typical materials included in the shielding depicted in FIG. 20 includesheet metal, metal screen or mesh, metal foam, and mu-metal alloys. Anyholes in the shielding or mesh must be significantly smaller than thewavelength of the radiation and/or magnetic field that is being keptout, or the enclosure will not effectively approximate an unbrokenconducting surface. In accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a coating may be applied to the interior spaces of theelectric vehicle 100 and/or exterior spaces of the electric vehicle 100with a metallic ink or similar material. Such ink generally includes acarrier material loaded with a suitable metal, typically copper ornickel, in the form of very small particulates. The ink may be sprayedon to the interior and/or exterior areas of the electric vehicle 100,and, once dry, produces a continuous conductive layer of metal, whichcan be electrically connected to the chassis ground, and thus provideeffective shielding. Accordingly, no matter the material used tomanufacture the electric vehicle 100, at least the passenger compartmentarea may be shielded. That is, the chassis, body panels, and other areasof the of the electric vehicle 100 may be sprayed with or otherwiseinclude the metallic ink or similar material; accordingly, the chassis,body panels, and other areas of the electric vehicle 100 can beeffectively shielded from the electromagnetic fields produced during acharging process even though such chassis, body panels, and other areasof the electric vehicle 100 may be made of plastic, carbon fiber, glass,rubber, fiberglass and other generally non-conductive materials.Moreover, translucent and/or transparent conductive inks may beutilized. In some embodiments, the metallic ink may be included in thepaint that may be applied to the exterior surfaces of the electricvehicle 100.

As further depicted in FIG. 20, shields comprising the shielding safetysystem 2000 may include one or more separate panels implementingdifferent forms of shielding. For instance, the door panel shield 2060 amay be an exterior door panel that includes a metallic ink coating asdiscussed above, while the door panel shield 2060 b may be an interiordoor panel including a mesh or semi-mesh material. Accordingly, thecombination of the two different types of shielding, the conductive inkand the mesh material may increase an amount of attenuation of theelectromagnetic fields within the interior of the electric vehicle 100and decrease a strength of the electromagnetic fields within theinterior of the electric vehicle 100.

As further depicted in FIG. 21, a shielding panel 2100 may include aplurality of layers, or sheets, of material in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. That is, one or more of thefirewall shield 2010, undercarriage shield 2020, roof shield 2030,windshield shield 2050, door panel shield 2060 a, door panel shield 2060b, window shield 2070, quarter panel shield 2090, and/or trunk/interiorseparator shield 2095 may include multiple layers of shielding material.As depicted in FIG. 21, a first layer 2110 may be separated from asecond layer 2130 by conductive and/or non-conductive posts orseparators 2130. The separators 2131 may be switched (e.g. 2150) suchthat they are conductive at a first point in time and non-conductive ata second point in time. Accordingly, depending on circumstances, thefirst layer or sheet 2110 may be electrically coupled to the secondlayer or sheet 2120.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a third layer2115 may be disposed on or otherwise connected, coupled, and/or incommunication with the first layer 2110. That is, the third layer 2115may be a metallic ink layer, or a layer of similar properties. The firstlayer 2110, the second layer 2120, and/or the third layer 2115 may becoupled to ground 2140, which may be either the chassis or frame, or anearth ground. Such ground coupling may be selective in that a switch2145 may be disposed between the ground and each of the layers.

In some instances, a layer 2150 may be interposed between shieldinglayers. For example, an insulation layer 2150 may be provided betweenthe first layer 2110 and the second layer 2120. In other instances, aspace between layers may be filled with air and/or a specific gas. Forexample, the space or gap between the first layer 2110 and the secondlayer 2120 may be filled with air having a specific pressure, a gashaving a specific pressure; or the space may be in a vacuum state.

As depicted in FIG. 22, the shielding safety system 2000 may include anactive cancellation management system 2200. The active cancellationmanagement system 2200 may include a detector 2210, active cancellationmanagement unit 2220, and shielding 2230. The shielding 2230 may be thesame or similar to the shields and shielding previously discussed. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the activecancellation management system 2200 generates an equal amount ofopposite flux to minimize and remove the effects of the excess magneticflux. Accordingly, the detector 2210 may initially detect an amount ofelectromagnetic field and supply the detected amount to the activecancellation management unit 2220, whereby the active cancellationmanagement unit 2220 generates an opposite amount of flux by causing asignal to flow through one or more of the shielding 2230 for example.Importantly, at least one shielding 2230 is located between the chargingplate 608 and the passenger compartment.

The detector 2210 may be any detector capable of sensing an electricfield, a magnetic field, and/or an electromagnetic field. For example,the detector 2210 may be an electromagnet field (EMF) meter and mayinclude an EMF probe or antenna to measure a present electromagneticfield. The EMF probe may respond to fields only on one axis, or may betri-axial, showing components of the field in three directions at once.The detector 2210 may include amplified, active, probes which canimprove measurement precision and sensitivity. Alternatively, or inaddition, the detector 2210 may be a magnetometer capable of measuring apresence and strength of a magnetic field. Magnetometers are measurementinstruments used for two general purposes: to measure the magnetizationof a magnetic material like a ferromagnet, or to measure the strengthand, in some cases, the direction of the magnetic field at a point inspace. In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, thedetector 2210 may measure a direction, strength, and/or location offields that may be present. The detector 2210 may then provide suchmeasures to the active cancellation management unit 2220. In someembodiments, multiple detectors 2210 may exist and may measure astrength and direction of a field a specified location. Accordingly, astrength and direction of a field from each of the detectors 2210 may beutilized to determine an optimal and opposing field to be generated bythe active cancellation management unit 2220.

The active cancellation management unit 2220 may receive themeasurements from the detector 2210 and determine a strength, location,and/or direction of an opposing field that would need to be generated tooppose the detected field. The active cancellation management unit 2220may then generate a signal, or cause to be generated a signal, whichflows through one or more shielding 2230, coils, or plates in order togenerate the determined opposite field. The active cancellationmanagement unit 2220 may include one or more processors to carry out aset of programming instructions to make such determination and togenerate, or cause to be generated the signal needed to oppose the fieldgenerated during inductive charging. Alternatively, or in addition, theactive cancellation management unit 2220 may be implemented by one ormore processors, memory, and/or systems illustrated and describedherein. For example, the charge management unit 1708 may implementvarious functions of the active cancellation management unit 2220.

The shielding 2230 may be the same as or different from the firewallshield 2010, undercarriage shield 2020, roof shield 2030, windshieldshield 2050, door panel shield 2060 a, door panel shield 2060 b, windowshield 2070, quarter panel shield 2090, and/or trunk/interior separatorshield 2095 previously described. That is, as depicted in FIG. 23, andin accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the shielding2230 may include one or more wirings specifically located to oppose afield generated during an induction charging event. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 23, the roof shield 2330 may include a plurality ofwirings connected to the active cancellation management unit 2220. Aspreviously discussed, the active cancellation management unit 2220 maygenerate a signal, or cause a signal to be generated that flows throughthe wirings. The time varying signal that flows through the wirings 2320for example, may generate an electromagnetic field, or flux, thatopposes the flux of the field generated during the wireless chargingprocess.

As further depicted in FIG. 23, the shielding 2230 may be located in andaround the interior compartment of the electric vehicle 100.Accordingly, the firewall shield 2310, the windshield shield 2050, theroof shield 2030, the door panel shield 2060 a, door panel shield 2060b, the trunk/interior shield separator 2095, and the undercarriageshield 2020 may include or otherwise contain the wirings to generate theopposite fields. Moreover, the seat shield 2085 may generate an oppositefield. As previously discussed, each of the shields may include ametallic ink that is translucent and/or transparent; such ink may beutilized to create the wirings in one or more desired patterns.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to be able to control theshielding such that such shielding can be selectively turned on and off.In some instances, for example, the use of a Faraday cage or aFaraday-like cage to minimize or otherwise suppress the effects ofexcessive magnetic flux may not be desired in that mobile communicationsfrom drivers and/or passengers within the passenger compartment may bedisrupted. Accordingly, it may be desirable to not suppresselectromagnetic signals going in and out of the passenger compartment.In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, theshielding may be turned on or off and/or deployed or non-deployed.

As depicted in FIG. 24, a deployable grounding rod or hook 2410 may beincluded in the shielding safety system 2000. The grounding rod or hook2410, may be the same as or similar to the deployable grounding rod2035. In a non-charging process, the rod or hook 2410 may be in anon-deployed (e.g. non-extended/non-telescoping) state. During acharging process, the rod or hook 2410 deploys, or telescopes outwardsuch that the rod or hook 2410 contacts a grounding pad 2420. Thegrounding pad 2420 is electrically coupled to a grounding rod 2430 whichis electrically coupled to an Earth ground. Accordingly, the groundingrod or hook 2410 is electrically coupled to an Earth ground.

The deployment of the grounding rod or hook 2410 may be based onlocation, whether or not a charging process is to be performed, at thedirection of a charging station, at the direction of a user, or may bemanually extended. In that the grounding rod or hook 2410 is inelectrical communication with an Earth ground, the chassis may then begrounded. Accordingly, the previously mentioned shields may then begrounded to an Earth ground.

Alternatively, or in addition, embodiments of the present disclosure maycontrol one or more of the 2141 and 2145 to control which shields aregrounded and which shields are not. That is, in some embodiments, it maybe desirable to ground certain portions of the electric vehicle 100while not grounding other portions. In some embodiments, one shield maybe grounded while another shield is utilized to generate an opposingfield.

Referring now to FIG. 25, a method 2500 for determining whether todeploy the ground rod or hook 2410 will be discussed in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. Method 2500 is in embodiments,performed by a device, such as the charge management unit 1708. Morespecifically, one or more hardware and software components may beinvolved in performing method 2500. The method 2500 may be executed as aset of computer-executable instructions executed by a computer systemand encoded or stored on a computer-readable medium. Method 2500 may beexecuted utilizing the processor/controller 1920 and/or the memory 1916of the subsystem 1900. Hereinafter, method 2500 shall be explained withreference to systems, components, modules, software, etc. described withFIGS. 1-24.

Method 2500 may continuously flow in a loop, flow according to a timedevent, or flow according to a change in an operating or statusparameter. Method 2500 is initiated at step S2504 where a chargingprocedure is implemented. At step S2508, the one or more indications maybe received indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is to be charged.That is, at step S2508, based on at least one of location, manual input,a detection of a charging frequency, circuit, and/or message, method2500 may determine that charging is to occur. If charging is to occur,method 2500 may move to step S2512 where the grounding rod or hook2035/2410 may be deployed such that the grounding rod or hook iselectrically coupled to the grounding pad 2420. Method 2500 may end atstep S2516.

Referring now to FIG. 26, a method 2600 for actively canceling anelectromagnetic field will be discussed in accordance with embodimentsof the present disclosure. Method 2600 is in embodiments, performed by adevice, such as the charge management unit 1708. More specifically, oneor more hardware and software components may be involved in performingmethod 2600. The method 2600 may be executed as a set ofcomputer-executable instructions executed by a computer system andencoded or stored on a computer-readable medium. Method 2600 may beexecuted utilizing the processor/controller 1920 and/or the memory 1916of the subsystem 1900. Hereinafter, method 2600 shall be explained withreference to systems, components, modules, software, etc. described withFIGS. 1-25.

Method 2600 may continuously flow in a loop, flow according to a timedevent, or flow according to a change in an operating or statusparameter. Method 2600 is initiated at step S2604 where a chargingprocedure is initiated. At step S2508, field information, such asstrength, location, and/or type for example may be received from thedetector 2210. Based on the information received at step S2508, theshielding safety system 2000 may determine an amount of opposing fluxneeded, and a location to supply the opposing flux at step S2612. Atstep S2616, the shielding safety system 2000 may generate or cause to begenerated a signal based on the location and amount of flux needed tooffset or attenuate the electromagnetic field detected because of acharging operation. At step S2620, similar to step S2608, the detector2210 may provide a resulting field measurement. At step S2624, if themeasured field at one or more locations is less than a threshold, themethod 2600 may proceed to step S2628, where if the electric vehicle 100is still charging, method 2600 may proceed back to step S2608. If, onthe other hand, the attenuation of the generated field is notsufficiently attenuated, method 2600 may proceed back to step S2612,where another amount and location for the opposing flux/field may begenerated. Method 2600 may end at step S2632.

As depicted in FIG. 27A, a safety shielding system 2000 may include oneor more deployable panels that reduce and/or eliminate the radiation andinterference resulting from inductive charging in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 27A, when thecharging plate 608 is in a non-deployed state, deployable panels 2704Aand 2704B may be in an inactive state. That is, the deployable panel2704A and 2704B may reside between a charging area 520 and the chargingplate 608 as depicted at a first time T₁. Although depicted as beinglocated below the vehicle 100, it is contemplated that the deployablepanel 2704A and 2704B can be located anywhere on or near the vehiclewhere such deployable panel 2704A and 2704B can be between the chargingplate 608 and the charging area 520 having a power source. In someembodiments, such panels 2704A and 2704B may not be connected to agrounding source when in an inactive state. In some embodiments, thedeployable panel 2704A and 2704B may comprise a portion of theundercarriage of the vehicle 100. Alternatively, or in addition, thedeployable panels 2704A and 2704B may operate in a similar manner asbomb bay doors found on various vehicles, such as aircraft. Accordingly,at a time T₂, the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B may pivot and open.For example, the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B may pivot around anaxis 2706, such as a hinge, pin, or other pivotable device. Accordingly,while the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B are in the open position,the charging plate 608 may deploy into an extended and/or operationalposition. Thus, as depicted at a time T3, the charging plate 608 mayextend to a position such that the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B arebetween the charging plate 608 and the passenger compartment of thevehicle, for example. Further, as depicted at T3, the deployable panels2704A and 2704B may return to the closed position.

When the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B return to the closedposition, and when the charging area 520 is providing wireless power tothe charging plate 608, the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B may beconnected to ground of the chassis and/or an Earth ground. For example,each of the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B may be a shielding panel2100 as depicted in FIG. 21. Accordingly, a switch 2145 may couple thedeployable panels 2704A and 2704B to ground 2140 when the deployablepanels 2704A and 2704B are in a closed state and when the charging plate608 is receiving energy from the charging area 520 transferred from theexterna power source 516. Alternatively, or in addition, the deployablepanels 2704A and 2704B may be grounded via switch 2140 when such panelsinitially transition to the open position. When a charging operation iscomplete, the deployable panels 2704A and 2704B may return to anon-deployed state, as depicted at a time T₁.

As depicted in FIG. 27B, a safety shielding system 2000 may include oneor more deployable panels that reduce and/or eliminate the radiation andinterference resulting from inductive charging in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 27B, when thecharging plate 608 is in a non-deployed state, deployable panels 2708Aand 2708B may be in an inactive state. That is, the deployable panel2708A and 2708B may reside between a charging area 520 and the chargingplate 608 as depicted at a first time T₁. Although depicted as beinglocated below the vehicle 100, it is contemplated that the deployablepanel 2708A and 2708B can be located anywhere on or near the vehiclewhere such deployable panel 2708A and 2708B can be between the chargingplate 608 and the charging area 520 having a power source. In someembodiments, such panels 2708A and 2708B may not be connected to agrounding source when in an inactive state. In some embodiments, thedeployable panel 2708A and 2708B may comprise a portion of theundercarriage of the vehicle 100. Alternatively, or in addition, thedeployable panels 2708A and 2708B may be operable to slide, where eachof the panels slides in a direction opposite to one another panel. Thatis, rather than pivot as provided in FIG. 27A, the deployable panel2708A and 2708B slide. As depicted at a time T₂, the deployable panels2708A and 2708B may slide toward the front of the vehicle 100 and/or therear of the vehicle 100 to create an opening for the charging place 608to deploy. Accordingly, while the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B arein the open position, the charging plate 608 may deploy into an extendedand/or operational position. Thus, as depicted at a time T3, thecharging plate 608 may extend to a position such that the deployablepanels 2708A and 2708B are between the charging plate 608 and thepassenger compartment of the vehicle, for example. Further, as depictedat T3, the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B may return to the closedposition.

When the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B return to the closedposition, and when the charging area 520 is providing wireless power tothe charging plate 608, the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B may beconnected to ground of the chassis and/or an Earth ground. For example,each of the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B may be a shielding panel2100 as depicted in FIG. 21. Accordingly, a switch 2145 may couple thedeployable panels 2708A and 2708B to ground 2140 when the deployablepanels 2708A and 2708B are in a closed state and when the charging plate608 is receiving energy from the charging area 520 transferred from theexterna power source 516. Alternatively, or in addition, the deployablepanels 2708A and 2708B may be grounded via switch 2140 when such panelsinitially transition to the open position. When a charging operation iscomplete, the deployable panels 2708A and 2708B may return to anon-deployed state, as depicted at a time T₁.

As depicted in FIG. 28A, a safety shielding system 2800 may include adeployable panel 2802 that reduces and/or eliminates the radiation andinterference resulting from inductive charging in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 28A, thesafety shielding system 2000 may include a deployable shield or panel2802. Although depicted as being located below the vehicle 100, it iscontemplated that the deployable shield or panel 2802 can be locatedanywhere on or near the vehicle where such deployable shield or panel2802 can be between the charging plate 608 and the charging area 520having a power source. Thus, in a non-deployed state, such as depictedat time T1, the deployable shield or panel 2804A may have a narrow crosssection or otherwise be folded within and/or upon itself, similar to anorigami hand fan. As the deployable shield or panel 2802 goes from anon-deployed state 2804A at a time T₁ to a semi-deployed state 2804B attime T₂, the deployable shield or panel 2802 begins to unfold. Asdepicted in FIG. 28A, each of the folds may be visible and areillustrated in the semi-deployed state 2804B. That is, multiple foldedpanels 2820 that are coupled to one another may make up the deployableshield or panel 2802. The folded panels 2820 may be a single continuousmaterial; or separate panels and/or separate materials may make up thefolded panels. FIG. 28C illustrates a deployable shield or panel 2802 ina semi-deployed state.

As the deployable shield or panel 2802 goes from the semi-deployed state2804B to another semi-deployed state 2804C at time T₃, additional panelsunfold and the deployable shield or panel 2802 increases an overallsurface area. It should be understood that although individual panelsare not illustrated in the remaining states, the deployable shield orpanel 2802 at states 2804C-2804D include such panels. At a time of T₄,the deployable shield or panel 2802 may be at a state 2804D which is anunfolded, also known as, fully deployed state. As further depicted inFIG. 28A, the deployable shield or panel 2802 may deploy around thecharging plate 608. Thus, radiation, such as electromagnetic signalsand/or flux, and interference resulting from inductive charging may beshielded from reaching the passenger compartment.

The deployable shield or panel 2802 may include a flexible materialhaving a permeability that is greater than the permeability in freespace; thus the magnetic flux can be concentered in a low reluctancepath which can then be used to contain the magnetic field and preventsuch field from reaching regions where it is not desired. Alternatively,or in addition, a mu-metal may be used. The deployable shield or panel2802 may be deployed utilizing a rotatable assembly capable of unfoldingsuch shield or panel 2802.

As depicted in FIG. 28B, multiple panels or shields may be utilized. Forexample, a first panel or shield 2802 in a deployed state surroundingthe charging plate 608 is illustrated. In some instances, the deployableshield or panel 2802 may need to have a larger surface area.Accordingly, additional deployable shields or panels 2808 and/or 2812may be deployed for example around other deployable shields. Aspreviously mentioned, a deployable shield or panel, such as deployableshield or panel 2808, may have multiple semi-deployed states 2808B-2808Cand/or a fully deployed state 2808D. Alternatively, or in addition, adeployable shield or panel, such as deployable shield or panel 2812, mayhave multiple semi-deployed states 2812B-2812C and/or a fully deployedstate 2812D. The shields may form concentric circles around othershields, increasing the overall size of the deployable shield. In someinstances, a deployable shield or panel 2802 may include one or more ofthe shields 2804, 2808, and 2812 for example, where some are deployed,semi-deployed, and/or fully deployed. As one example, shield 2808 may bein a states 2808B, while shield 2812 may be in a fully deployed state2812D. Thus, depending on the shape, surface area, and ultimateconfiguration of the deployable shield or panel 2802, the deployableshield or panel 2802 may be tuned to reduce a maximum amount of theradiation and interference resulting from inductive charging.

As depicted in FIGS. 28D and 28E, the deployable shields or panels maytake multiple configurations. For example, rectangular shields or panels2824 may be stacked in a non-deployed states, and form a generally flatsurface in a deployed state. Of course, different shapes may be utilizedas depicted by the dashed line. As depicted in FIG. 28E, the panels orshields may be folded upon one another as previously described, butinstead of fanning out, the panels or shields form a generally flat andrectangular shape. Thus, the panels or shields 2828 may have a smallarea and/or surface area in a non-deployed state and have a large areaor surface area in a deployed state. Each of the panels or shields aspreviously described may be coupled or connected to a ground, eitherchassis or Earth, via the switch 2145 for example. Thus, FIG. 28Edepicts a top view of the panels (on top) and a side view of the panels(below the top view). Moreover, one or more of a motor, actuator, lever,pneumatic, hydraulic, and/or magnetic assembly may be utilized to movethe deployable shield or panel from a non-deployed state to a deployedstate. As previously indicated, although depicted as being located belowthe vehicle 100, the deployable panels or shields may be locatedanywhere between the passenger compartment and the charging plate, forexample 608. Further, each of the previously deployable shields orpanels 2704, 2708, 2802, 2804, 2808, 2812, 2824, and 2828 may include aplurality of wirings such that the active cancellation management unit2220 may provide one or more signals to such deployable shields orpanels to oppose a flux.

Referring now to FIG. 29, a method 2900 for deploying a shield or panelwill be discussed in accordance with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Method 2900 is in embodiments, performed by a device, suchas the charge management unit 1708. More specifically, one or morehardware and software components may be involved in performing method2900. The method 2900 may be executed as a set of computer-executableinstructions executed by a computer system and encoded or stored on acomputer-readable medium. Method 2900 may be executed utilizing theprocessor/controller 1920 and/or the memory 1916 of the subsystem 1900.Hereinafter, method 2900 shall be explained with reference to systems,components, modules, software, etc. described with FIGS. 1-28E.

Method 2900 may continuously flow in a loop, flow according to a timedevent, or flow according to a change in an operating or statusparameter. Method 2900 is initiated at step S2904 where a chargingprocedure may be initiated. At step S2908, the initiation of thecharging operation and/or the detection of the charging operation may beperformed. Accordingly, one or more of the previously deployable shields2802, for example, may be deployed at step S2912. In some embodiments,the previously described grounding rod may be deployed and may cause thedeployable panels or shields to be connected to an Earth ground at stepS2916.

At step S2920, field information, such as such as strength, location,and/or type for example may be received from the detector 2210. Based onthe information received at step S2920, the shielding safety system2800, for example, may determine that one or more deployable shieldsneeds to be adjusted, either changing a position, surface area, orlocation of one or more of the deployable shields. At step S2924therefore, it may be determined whether or not an emf field issufficiently attenuated. If not, the method 2900 may return to stepS2912 where one or more shields may be deployed and/or adjusted. If acharging operation is still going on at step S2928, then the method 2900may return to step S2920 where information about the field may bereceived. Alternatively, or in addition, the shields or panels may bedeployed until the charging operation is complete. Method 2900 mayfinish at step S2932.

Any of the steps, functions, and operations discussed herein can beperformed continuously and automatically.

The exemplary systems and methods of this disclosure have been describedin relation to vehicle systems and electric vehicles. However, to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, the precedingdescription omits a number of known structures and devices. Thisomission is not to be construed as a limitation of the scope of theclaimed disclosure. Specific details are set forth to provide anunderstanding of the present disclosure. It should, however, beappreciated that the present disclosure may be practiced in a variety ofways beyond the specific detail set forth herein.

Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein show thevarious components of the system collocated, certain components of thesystem can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributednetwork, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicatedsystem. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of thesystem can be combined into one or more devices, such as a server,communication device, or collocated on a particular node of adistributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunicationsnetwork, a packet-switched network, or a circuit-switched network. Itwill be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons ofcomputational efficiency, that the components of the system can bearranged at any location within a distributed network of componentswithout affecting the operation of the system.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connectingthe elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof,or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable ofsupplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements.These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may becapable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media usedas links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electricalsignals, including coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiber optics, andmay take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generatedduring radio-wave and infra-red data communications.

While the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation toa particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes,additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materiallyaffecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, andaspects.

A number of variations and modifications of the disclosure can be used.It would be possible to provide for some features of the disclosurewithout providing others.

In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, aprogrammed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integratedcircuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digitalsignal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such asdiscrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array suchas PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means,or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementingthe methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the variousaspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for thepresent disclosure includes computers, handheld devices, telephones(e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, andothers), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devicesinclude processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory,nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore,alternative software implementations including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readilyimplemented in conjunction with software using object or object-orientedsoftware development environments that provide portable source code thatcan be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms.Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially orfully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whethersoftware or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance withthis disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirementsof the system, the particular function, and the particular software orhardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems beingutilized.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partiallyimplemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executedon programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of acontroller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, orthe like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosurecan be implemented as a program embedded on a personal computer such asan applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurementsystem, system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system.

Although the present disclosure describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned hereinare in existence and are considered to be included in the presentdisclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein andother similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein areperiodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents included in thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, andaspects, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/orapparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, includingvarious embodiments, subcombinations, and subsets thereof. Those ofskill in the art will understand how to make and use the systems andmethods disclosed herein after understanding the present disclosure. Thepresent disclosure, in various embodiments, configurations, and aspects,includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items notdepicted and/or described herein or in various embodiments,configurations, or aspects hereof, including in the absence of suchitems as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., forimproving performance, achieving ease, and/or reducing cost ofimplementation.

The foregoing discussion of the disclosure has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intendedto limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In theforegoing Detailed Description for example, various features of thedisclosure are grouped together in one or more embodiments,configurations, or aspects for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. The features of the embodiments, configurations, or aspectsof the disclosure may be combined in alternate embodiments,configurations, or aspects other than those discussed above. This methodof disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention thatthe claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recitedin each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventiveaspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosedembodiment, configuration, or aspect. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of thedisclosure.

Moreover, though the description of the disclosure has includeddescription of one or more embodiments, configurations, or aspects andcertain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations,and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as maybe within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, afterunderstanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights,which include alternative embodiments, configurations, or aspects to theextent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalentstructures, functions, ranges, or steps to those claimed, whether or notsuch alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges, or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

Embodiments include a system for charging an electric vehicle thatincludes a charging system including a power source and a charging platewirelessly coupled to the power source, wherein the power sourcewirelessly transfers power to the charging plate, and at least oneshield portion between the charging plate and a passenger compartment ofthe electric vehicle, wherein the at least one shield portion isconfigured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by thecharging system.

Aspects of the above system include where at least one shield portionincludes a mu-metal. Further aspects of the above system include aplurality of shielding components, wherein the plurality of shieldingcomponents encloses the passenger compartment of the electric vehicle.Additional aspects of the above system include where at least oneshielding component includes a metallic ink. Still further, aspects ofthe above system include at least one shielding component disposed overa transparent material forming a window of the electric vehicle. Stillfurther, at least one aspect of the above system includes a groundingrod configured to deploy during a charging operation such that thegrounding rod is electrically coupled to an Earth ground during thecharging operation. Additional aspects of the above system include anactive cancellation management unit configured to generate anelectromagnetic field which at least partially opposes theelectromagnetic field provided by the charging system and receivedwithin the passenger compartment. Further aspects of the above systeminclude at least one detector configured to detect at least one of anelectric field and a magnetic field within the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle. Still further, aspects of the above system include wherethe active cancellation management unit is configured to generate theelectromagnetic field based on a strength of the at least one of theelectric field and the magnetic field within the passenger compartmentof the vehicle as detected by the at least one detector. Further still,aspects of the above system include where the at least one shieldingportion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receive a signalprovided by the active cancellation management unit, the signalgenerating the electromagnetic field which at least partially opposesthe electromagnetic field provided by the charging system and receivedwithin the passenger compartment when the signal flows through theplurality of wirings.

Embodiments include a method of shielding a passenger compartment fromelectromagnetic fields generated during a charging process of anelectric vehicle, the method comprising providing a charging systemincluding a power source and a charging plate wirelessly coupled to thepower source; providing at least one shield portion between the chargingplate and the passenger compartment of the electric vehicle, wherein theat least one shield portion is configured to attenuate anelectromagnetic field provided by the charging system and receivedwithin the passenger compartment; and wirelessly transferring power fromthe power source to the charging plate.

Aspects of the above method include where the at least one shieldportion includes a mu-metal. Additional aspects of the above methodinclude where at least one shielding component includes a metallic ink.Further aspects of the above method include deploying a grounding rodduring a charging process when the power is wirelessly transferred fromthe power source to the charging plate, wherein the grounding rod iselectrically coupled to an Earth ground during the charging operation.Still further aspects of the above method include generating anelectromagnetic field which at least partially opposes theelectromagnetic field provided by the charging system and receivedwithin the passenger compartment. Additional aspects of the above methodinclude detecting by at least one detector at least one of an electricfield and a magnetic field within the passenger compartment of thevehicle. Further aspects of the above method include generating theelectromagnetic field based on a strength of the at least one of theelectric field and the magnetic field within the passenger compartmentof the vehicle as detected by the at least one detector. Still further,additional aspects of the above method include wherein the at least oneshielding portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receivea signal, the signal generating the electromagnetic field which at leastpartially opposes the electromagnetic field provided by the chargingsystem and received within the passenger compartment when the signalflows through the plurality of wirings.

Embodiments include a system for charging an electric vehicle, thesystem including a charging system including a power source and acharging plate wirelessly coupled to the power source, wherein the powersource wirelessly transfers power to the charging plate, and at leastone grounding rod configured to be coupled with a grounding plate whenthe power source wirelessly transfers the power to the charging plate.

Aspects of the above system include where the at least one grounding rodis electrically coupled to a frame component of the electric vehicle.

Embodiments include a system for charging an electric vehicle, thesystem including a charging system including a power source and acharging plate wirelessly coupled to the power source, where the powersource wirelessly transfers power to the charging plate. Embodiments ofthe system include at least one shield portion between the chargingplate and a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle. The at leastone shield portion includes at least two states, a first state being anon-deployed state and a second state being a deployed state, and the atleast one shield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagneticfield provided by the charging system when in the second state.

Aspects of the above system include where the at least one shieldportion includes a mu-metal. Additional aspects of the above systeminclude where a surface area of the at least one shield portion in thefirst state is less than the surface area of the at least one shieldportion in the second state. Further still, aspects of the above systeminclude where the at least one shield portion surrounds at least aportion of the charging plate. Other aspects may include a secondshielding portion that surrounds the at least one shielding portion whenin a deployed state. Aspects may further include a grounding rodconfigured to deploy during a charging operation such that the groundingrod and the at least one shield portion are electrically coupled to anEarth ground during the charging operation. Other aspects may includewhere at least one shielding portion at least one of pivots or slideswhen going from the first state to the second state. Additional aspectsmay include at least one detector configured to detect at least one ofan electric field and a magnetic field within the passenger compartmentof the vehicle. Further still, aspects may include where the at leastone shield portion is configurable to attenuate the electromagneticfield provided by the charging system when in a third state, whereinwhen in a third state, the at least one shield portion is partiallydeployed. Further yet, aspects of the system may include where the atleast one shielding portion includes a plurality of wirings configuredto receive a signal provided by an active cancellation management unit,the signal causing an electromagnetic field to be generated which atleast partially opposes the electromagnetic field provided by thecharging system and received within the passenger compartment when thesignal flows through the plurality of wirings.

Embodiments include a method of shielding a passenger compartment fromelectromagnetic fields generated during a charging process of anelectric vehicle, where the method includes providing a charging systemincluding a power source and a charging plate wirelessly coupled to thepower source, providing at least one deployable shield portion betweenthe charging plate and the passenger compartment of the electricvehicle, wherein the at least one deployable shield portion isconfigured to attenuate an electromagnetic field provided by thecharging system, and wirelessly transferring power from the power sourceto the charging plate.

Aspects of the above method include where the at least one shieldportion includes a mu-metal. Additional aspects of the above methodinclude where the at least one deployable shield portion includes atleast two states, a first state being a non-deployed sate and a secondstate being a deployed state, and wherein the at least one shieldportion is configured to attenuate the electromagnetic field provided bythe charging system when in the second state. Further still, aspects mayinclude deploying the at least one deployable shield portion such that asurface area of the at least one shield portion in the second state isgreater than the surface area of the at least one shield portion in thefirst state. Additional aspects may include surrounding the chargingplate with the at least one deployable shield portion. Some aspects mayinclude where the at least one shield portion at least one of pivots orslides when going from the first state to the second state. Lastly, someaspects may include generating an electromagnetic field based on astrength of at least one of an electric field or magnetic field withinthe passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein the at least oneshield portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receive asignal provided by an active cancellation management unit, the signalcausing an electromagnetic field to be generated which at leastpartially opposes the at least one of the electric field or magneticfield.

Embodiments include a deployable shield portion configured to attenuatean electromagnetic field, where the deployable shield portion includesat least one configurable panel portion configured to move between anon-deployed state and a deployed state, where when in a deployed state,a surface area of the at least one configurable panel portion that isbetween a passenger compartment of a vehicle and a charging plate of awireless inductive charging system is greater than the surface area ofthe of the at least one configurable panel portion when in thenon-deployed state.

Aspects of the above method include wherein when in the non-deployedstate, the at least one configurable panel portion is not between thecharging plate of the wireless inductive charging system and thepassenger compartment, and wherein when in the deployed state, the atleast one configurable panel portion is between the charging plate ofthe wireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment.Further still, aspects of the above system include where when in thedeployed and non-deployed state, the at least one configurable panelportion is between the charging plate of the wireless inductive chargingsystem and the passenger compartment.

The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” “or,” and “and/or” areopen-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive inoperation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, Band C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “oneor more of A, B, or C,” “A, B, and/or C,” and “A, B, or C” means Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, or A, B and C together.

The term “a” or “an” entity refers to one or more of that entity. Assuch, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more,” and “at least one” can beused interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms“comprising,” “including,” and “having” can be used interchangeably.

The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers toany process or operation, which is typically continuous orsemi-continuous, done without material human input when the process oroperation is performed. However, a process or operation can beautomatic, even though performance of the process or operation usesmaterial or immaterial human input, if the input is received beforeperformance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to bematerial if such input influences how the process or operation will beperformed. Human input that consents to the performance of the processor operation is not deemed to be “material.”

Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of an embodimentthat is entirely hardware, an embodiment that is entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” or “system.”Any combination of one or more computer-readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signalmedium or a computer-readable storage medium.

A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of thecomputer-readable storage medium would include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document,a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that cancontain or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A computer-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer-readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer-readable signal medium may be any computer-readable medium thatis not a computer-readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program codeembodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using anyappropriate medium, including, but not limited to, wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of theforegoing.

The terms “determine,” “calculate,” “compute,” and variations thereof,as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type ofmethodology, process, mathematical operation or technique.

The term “electric vehicle” (EV), also referred to herein as an electricdrive vehicle, may use one or more electric motors or traction motorsfor propulsion. An electric vehicle may be powered through a collectorsystem by electricity from off-vehicle sources, or may be self-containedwith a battery or generator to convert fuel to electricity. An electricvehicle generally includes a rechargeable electricity storage system(RESS) (also called Full Electric Vehicles (FEV)). Power storage methodsmay include: chemical energy stored on the vehicle in on-board batteries(e.g., battery electric vehicle or BEV), on board kinetic energy storage(e.g., flywheels), and/or static energy (e.g., by on-board double-layercapacitors). Batteries, electric double-layer capacitors, and flywheelenergy storage may be forms of rechargeable on-board electrical storage.

The term “hybrid electric vehicle” refers to a vehicle that may combinea conventional (usually fossil fuel-powered) powertrain with some formof electric propulsion. Most hybrid electric vehicles combine aconventional internal combustion engine (ICE) propulsion system with anelectric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). In parallelhybrids, the ICE and the electric motor are both connected to themechanical transmission and can simultaneously transmit power to drivethe wheels, usually through a conventional transmission. In serieshybrids, only the electric motor drives the drivetrain, and a smallerICE works as a generator to power the electric motor or to recharge thebatteries. Power-split hybrids combine series and parallelcharacteristics. A full hybrid, sometimes also called a strong hybrid,is a vehicle that can run on just the engine, just the batteries, or acombination of both. A mid hybrid is a vehicle that cannot be drivensolely on its electric motor, because the electric motor does not haveenough power to propel the vehicle on its own.

The term “rechargeable electric vehicle” or “REV” refers to a vehiclewith on board rechargeable energy storage, including electric vehiclesand hybrid electric vehicles.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for charging an electric vehicle, thesystem comprising: a charging system including a power source and acharging plate wirelessly coupled to the power source, wherein the powersource wirelessly transfers power to the charging plate; and at leastone shield portion between the charging plate and a passengercompartment of the electric vehicle, wherein, the at least one shieldportion includes at least two states, a first state being a non-deployedstate and a second state being a deployed state, and the at least oneshield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic fieldprovided by the charging system when in the second state.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein the at least one shield portion includes a mu-metal.3. The system of claim 1, wherein a surface area of the at least oneshield portion in the first state is less than the surface area of theat least one shield portion in the second state.
 4. The system of claim3, wherein the at least one shield portion surrounds at least a portionof the charging plate.
 5. The system of claim 3, further comprising: asecond shielding portion, wherein the second shield portion surroundsthe at least one shielding portion when in a deployed state.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising: a grounding rod configured todeploy during a charging operation such that the grounding rod and theat least one shield portion are electrically coupled to an Earth groundduring the charging operation.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one shielding portion at least one of pivots or slides when goingfrom the first state to the second state.
 8. The system of claim 1,further comprising: at least one detector configured to detect at leastone of an electric field and a magnetic field within the passengercompartment of the vehicle.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the atleast one shield portion is configurable to attenuate theelectromagnetic field provided by the charging system when in a thirdstate, wherein when in a third state, the at least one shield portion ispartially deployed.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least oneshielding portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receivea signal provided by an active cancellation management unit, the signalcausing an electromagnetic field to be generated which at leastpartially opposes the electromagnetic field provided by the chargingsystem and received within the passenger compartment when the signalflows through the plurality of wirings.
 11. A method of shielding apassenger compartment from electromagnetic fields generated during acharging process of an electric vehicle, the method comprising:providing a charging system including a power source and a chargingplate wirelessly coupled to the power source; providing at least onedeployable shield portion between the charging plate and the passengercompartment of the electric vehicle, wherein the at least one deployableshield portion is configured to attenuate an electromagnetic fieldprovided by the charging system; and wirelessly transferring power fromthe power source to the charging plate.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein the at least one shield portion includes a mu-metal.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the at least one deployable shield portionincludes at least two states, a first state being a non-deployed sateand a second state being a deployed state, and wherein the at least oneshield portion is configured to attenuate the electromagnetic fieldprovided by the charging system when in the second state.
 14. The methodof claim 13, further comprising: deploying the at least one deployableshield portion such that a surface area of the at least one shieldportion in the second state is greater than the surface area of the atleast one shield portion in the first state.
 15. The method of claim 13,further comprising: surrounding the charging plate with the at least onedeployable shield portion.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the atleast one shield portion at least one of pivots or slides when goingfrom the first state to the second state.
 17. The method of claim 11,further comprising: generating an electromagnetic field based on astrength of at least one of an electric field or magnetic field withinthe passenger compartment of the vehicle, wherein the at least oneshield portion includes a plurality of wirings configured to receive asignal provided by an active cancellation management unit, the signalcausing an electromagnetic field to be generated which at leastpartially opposes the at least one of the electric field or magneticfield.
 18. A deployable shield portion configured to attenuate anelectromagnetic field, the deployable shield portion comprising: atleast one configurable panel portion configured to move between anon-deployed state and a deployed state, wherein when in a deployedstate, a surface area of the at least one configurable panel portionthat is between a passenger compartment of a vehicle and a chargingplate of a wireless inductive charging system is greater than thesurface area of the of the at least one configurable panel portion whenin the non-deployed state.
 19. The deployable shield portion of claim18, wherein when in the non-deployed state, the at least oneconfigurable panel portion is not between the charging plate of thewireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment, andwherein when in the deployed state, the at least one configurable panelportion is between the charging plate of the wireless inductive chargingsystem and the passenger compartment.
 20. The deployable shield portionof claim 18, wherein when in the deployed and non-deployed state, the atleast one configurable panel portion is between the charging plate ofthe wireless inductive charging system and the passenger compartment.